


Sway of the Star

by achilleanvillain



Series: Akira Kurusu and the Starlight [1]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Developing Relationship, F/M, Minor Character Death, will contain royal spoilers/third semester content eventually
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:28:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 45
Words: 96,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24046654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/achilleanvillain/pseuds/achilleanvillain
Summary: When the Phantom Thieves need a tactician, Akira follows a lead. He gets a relationship he doesn't expect, and the Phantom Thieves gain an invaluable ally.P5 where Hifumi has a much closer relationship with the Thieves and a romantic relationship with Joker. Contains Royal spoilers from Chapter 35 onward.
Relationships: Kurusu Akira/Togo Hifumi, Persona 5 Protagonist/Togo Hifumi
Series: Akira Kurusu and the Starlight [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1940827
Comments: 222
Kudos: 200





	1. The Smallest Church In Kanda

The quiet sound of organ music was broken by the sound of a gold general being decisively placed into the center of its opponent’s castle. Smirking to herself, Hifumi Togo knew that she had guided her soldiers into yet another glorious victory. That this particular one was against herself as a form of training didn’t matter, it was a stepping stone toward her greater success. The Togo Kingdom held strong, guided by the steady hand of its tactician queen.

With movements that were muscle memory at this point, she reset the board. Her fingers traced along the varnished wooden tiles that made up her set, each of the members of her miniature army in its place, prepared to once again fight in mock battles to sharpen their queen’s strategic knowledge. This time, she would search for holes in her new attack. She had yet to christen it with a name - she preferred that a tactic prove itself on the field of combat before granting it such a right.

A soft meow was able to barely bleed through into her daydreamed reality, startling her awake, before the facade came crumbling by a very direct, albeit soft questioning coming from the outside world.

“Togo-san?” A black-haired boy in glasses stood before her, looking somewhat out of place in the antiquated place of worship.

The queen looked up from her kingdom to the intruder, her monarchy fading back to the realm of fantasy. Her confidence vanished, replaced by an apologetic tone. “Um… yes? I’m Hifumi Togo.”

The visiting boy pushed his glasses back up his face. “My friend Yusuke Kitagawa told me about you. You’re playing shogi in a church? Alone?”

Hifumi wasn’t one to interact with intruding strangers, especially those who had interrupted her practice, but something about this boy caught her interest. “I assure you, the atmosphere here makes it easy to come up with new moves. I suppose that may not seem realistic if you don’t play…” Her voice trailed off, and she picked up one of her pieces to nervously fidget with in her hand. “I apologize, but I do have permission to play here. You can go and pray now, I will not bother you.”

She was used to people being pushed away by her quiet, austere devotion. Instead, the boy sat down next to her in the pew, across from her on the shogi board. With genuine need showing in his eyes and hands clasped, he half-bowed before her. “Please teach me how to play shogi, Togo-san.”

Her eyes went wide. This was certainly an uncommon request. “I- You don’t have to learn shogi from me, you know. There are many options. You can play online nowadays. Even on your phone, I suspect.” The boy in front of her had not relented his pleading pose. “I apologize. The answer is no. Please excuse me.” That didn’t seem to be enough either. Honestly, his pleading might have been pathetic were it not for a certain je ne sais quoi that surrounded him.

“Okay. One match. Twenty seconds per round, if that’s okay with you?” That boy responded with a quick nod, light reflecting off the lenses of his eyewear. Suddenly, she found herself back at her command table, a map showing the placement of her troops and those of her enemy. She had no knowledge of the strategy of this new opponent, but she was eager to test her new theories against an opponent with potentially unique understanding of the flow of battle. With words unspoken, the queen pointed her men onto the field, ready for anything.

It wasn’t long before she realized how outmatched her opponent was. The Togo Kingdom’s soldiers routed these new interlopers with ease, and in a few cases the fantasy was broken by her having to explain to this new opponent that, in fact, those pieces could not move in that manner. Despite this, she could see a few glimpses of potential, unrealized brilliance in his moves. Perhaps his all-out attacks were a sign of inexperience and naivety, but perhaps with some shaping by her hands it could be formed into a strategy of aggression, a general willing to smartly sacrifice some of his pieces for the sake of greater victory.

Of course, he would have to really nail down the fundamentals of the game first. “So, this is your skill level, hmm?” she questioned, declaring her advantage as she captured one of his knights.

Nonetheless, for all his promise, Togo still had to first put him to the sword for daring to raise weapons against her grand kingdom. In her mind, one of her many generals rode up to the King commanding the opposing army, sword drawn, and her voice boomed over the din of battle. “Surrender your defeated forces to overwhelming opposition, pledge fealty to the Togo Kingdom, and your life shall be spared.” In reality, this was delivered curtly as “Check. Please concede.”

A meek voice from the conquered forces. “But, I could still win. This isn’t quite checkmate.”

“It is considered proper to concede when you have been defeated. If you mean to study shogi, you should answer that. Now, please concede.” The boy relented, slightly bashful at the scale of his defeat.

“You’re quite good at this, Togo-san.” Of course she was, she thought to herself. She was in the Ladies’ Professional Shogi Association, any game between her and an amateur was sure to be a stomp. Of course, such rudeness was not to be vocalized.  
“Thank you.” She paused for a moment, biting her lip in thought. “Could we play a match again sometime? Your strategies are quite interesting. I think you have a lot of potential. Plus, I can practice my new moves against you.”

“I would love to learn from you, Togo-san.” The boy bowed his head in respect before the victorious queen.

She smiled at him. She had held some worries that he had just been here as a subtext to get closer to an idol, as her mother would often remind her she was destined to be, but his genuine curiosity seemed almost innocent. “Here, can I get your contact information? I will contact you when I’m ready for another match. You can meet me here, the priest allows me to practice shogi here after school.”

Her new acquaintance retrieved his phone as she did hers, and with a few beeps their phone numbers and IM names were shared. “Oh, and I don’t think I ever got your name…”

“Akira Kurusu.”

“Thank you for the match, Kurusu-san. I look forward to training you.” She nodded sharply, the smile from earlier still on her face.

“You can call me Akira.”

“Then thank you, Akira-kun. But, please excuse me, I must be returning home now. It’s late, after all.”

“Good night, Togo-san.”

Minutes later, the church she practiced at becoming distant, Hifumi fired off one quick text. “Nice to meet you, Akira-kun. Thank you again for the match. I hope to teach you well.”

It wasn’t long before her phone buzzed. “Thank you. I’m sorry for being a beginner.”

* * *

On the last train to Yongen-Jaya, the leader of the Phantom Thieves grinned at his phone, pleased at the levity he was able to inject into the first texts he had sent to the strategist. She had truly been everything and more Yusuke had promised. Seeing her play had already given him an idea of how these tactics could be utilized in the Metaverse. He left the chat window where he had spoken to a shogi player and instead chose the chat with a small icon of a smiling mask with a hat.

**Akira Kurusu** : Yusuke, Togo-san is everything you promised and more.  
**Yusuke Kitagawa** : I’m quite pleased to hear it. I apologize if it was strange, I know she can be quite eccentric.  
**Ann Takakami** : You’re one to talk, Yusuke.  
**YK** : I am merely channeling an artist’s spirit.  
**AK** : Alright, enough. Anyway, I have a new strategy we can use after one day of talking to her. We can go over it in more detail at the hideout tomorrow.  
**Ryuji Sakamoto** : I’m excited, man!  
**AT** : You don’t even know what it is yet, Ryuji…

Akira flicked off his phone screen. The train car was empty, so he tapped quietly against the side of his bag, a hidden signal to the one contained within. Within moments, his bag began to shake, and soon a small cat’s head popped up from within. Morgana had heard everything, and was focused on the tactical usefulness of the conversation much as his thief partner was. “You found her quite useful, hm? Keep talking to her. You never know what kind of shogi trick will be useful on an actual battlefield.”

Akira nodded. “She’s quite intense. I think her decisiveness could be emulated. If we were to make decisions on the battlefield with that level of confidence…”

Morgana picked up where he left off. “That’s right. We could have lots of time to exploit our enemies’ unpreparedness. We could even use that time to sneak in our back line to the front in the middle of a fight.”

With the conclusion of the conversation, Akira felt a little tug within him. Ever since that night where he met with the strange long-nosed man and began to awaken to his powers, meeting new people gave him that same feeling. He knew for sure now, he had to explore this relationship further. It was valuable, nay, essential. There was definitely more that Togo could teach him. Perhaps he should study up some on his own? He could stay up a little late at Leblanc and research strategy on his phone. To impress her. Just to get better strategy out of her, of course. Nothing deeper than that. Certainly not.


	2. Dramatic All-out Attack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, when you put everything into an attack, you've got to make it worth the time you spent.

Less than a week later, Akira received another message from his new tactician acquaintance. After a curious afternoon helping Yusuke paint on the lake at Inokashira Park left him exhausted, his phone buzzed just as he entered the cafe he called his home for this year. His home screen had been invaded by a small face, hair adorned with a three-ring omamori knot. “Akira-kun, can you come to the church for a match tonight? I have a new move I’d like to try out.”

His eyes lit up at the sight of that. His reply was near-instant: “I have to help out at Leblanc for a bit, but I’ll be over in an hour or so. Is that good?”

“Absolutely. I look forward to our battle.”

Akira considered what would be a sufficiently confident response, before he heard assertive words coming from behind the counter of Leblanc. “Hey, what are you smiling about?” Sojiro looked on at the happy but somewhat frazzled boy who had entered his place of business. “I’m glad you’re feeling good, but get out of the doorway, I need customers to be able to come in.”

Akira gestured around the shop with both hands. “You’re right, I wouldn’t want to get in the way of all these customers.” The emptiness of the shop made his point for him.

“Just shut up and help me clean these dishes, okay?”

Akira relented, setting the bag containing his feline companion on the counter and heading to the dishwasher. As he scrubbed away at the sink, his mind wandered back to the few hours that week he had spent in bed, attempting to learn shogi strategy from his phone. Most of the terms and general knowledge went over his head, but he was able to pick up a few things. He hoped this would “wow” his new opponent. Sure, she had agreed to play him once despite his being a complete beginner, but there was no guarantee that would continue. And sure, there were probably others who could provide the role of a tactician, but it was easier to strengthen bonds you’d already formed than find new ones. Plus, there was just something about Togo that was interesting, but he couldn’t place it. He had to figure that out.

“Hey, you there?” Sojiro’s voice disrupted his thoughts. He sounded slightly irritated. Akira’s head turned towards him. “There. Jeez, I thought you had died or something. Listen, I’m gonna close up. I assume you’ll be heading to bed soon too? You seemed distracted all evening.”  
“Actually, I was going to go meet up with somebody to play shogi.”

“Shogi? You never struck me as someone who enjoyed something so old-fashioned.”

“I actually made a friend who plays it, and was going to hang out with them. Togo-san is quite good at the game, or at least that’s what she tells me.” Akira wasn’t sure how entirely true that was. “Friends” seemed a strong word to describe the pair’s interactions up to this point. However, he wasn’t sure Sojiro would understand going out to Kanda this late for an “acquaintance”. Maybe it was just aspirational.

...Why did he keep putting so much emphasis on this one bond? He didn’t act this way for his others.

“Wh- Togo? I think I heard about a girl named Togo who played shogi on the TV the other day. You’re really friends with her?” Sojiro furtively scratched at the back of his head. “Well. Don’t stay out too late. And don’t do anything that is going to get you in trouble. She’s famous, you know.” With the last few sentences, his tone shifted from inquisitive to deadly serious, with shades of the father figure energy he had begun to shift into as it became clear over time that Akira was no hardened criminal.

The two parted ways, and Akira flipped Leblanc’s sign to “Closed” as he mulled over the question he had posed earlier in his own mind. _Friends, huh..._

* * *

The church was somehow even less populated today than it had been the first day he was here. The priest stood watch over the altar at the front, but the pews were considerably thinned. In the front, by the confession booth, sat the reason he was here. Lost in thought, she pored over yet another simulacrum of a battlefield. Akira mentally drew pathways through the church. If he went to the right, he could sneak up on Togo and give her a scare… well, that would probably just make her irritated that he had interrupted her. He filed it away for if they became closer - he didn’t suspect her attention was ever going to waver much.

Instead of causing chaos, Akira put on his best good-boy act, straightened his shirt, and headed to speak once again with his new confidant. He cleared his throat. “Togo-san?”

His words startled her out of yet another fantasy, but she quickly collected herself, face adorned with a calm smile. “Ah, Akira-kun. I was beginning to be worried you weren’t able to make it.”

“Ah, sorry. I had to help out at the cafe, and it took longer than I expected.”

“You work at a cafe?”

“Not exactly. It’s a long story.” Hifumi knew how to take a hint, and didn’t inquire further for now. “Ready to play? I’ve been cooking up some new strategies that are going to take you down.” Akira dramatically pointed at his opponent, a faux overconfidence that he hoped would help break the ice between the two. Thankfully, Hifumi was quite receptive, picking up the same attitude in response.

“I find it unlikely you will be able to best the might of the Togo Kingdom, but I welcome your challenge.” She gestured to the shogi board before the two with a grand flourish. A moment passed, and then with her voice lowered - “Oh, uh, you can go first.”

The two began their battle, Akira showing off his new opening. “Oh? A Ranging Rook… have you been studying, or is this merely the fortune of a fool?” As the game progressed, Hifumi switched more and more into her persona as the queen of her kingdom from the meek, mild-mannered student. Those not party to the conversation would be forgiven for not realizing this match was taking place in what was usually perhaps among the calmest places in Tokyo.

“Do you hear the screams?” Hifumi looked into Akira’s eyes, confusion in his eyes in response to her deadly serious expression. “Your soldiers are dying. Their incompetent king has led them to ruin…” She shook her head, and then moved another piece forward with a commanding “clack”. “Unfortunately for them, I have no intention of stopping this campaign of slaughter just yet.”

Akira looked at the field, and knew he was playing from a losing position. His forces had been chipped away, and the opening guides he had read told him nothing about the mid-game or late-game. Instead, he was forced to save what he could as Hifumi continually chipped away at his position, taking his troops and turning their swords against him.

“Are you ready? It’s time.” Hifumi’s voice was cold, prepared for anything. “Your life is at an end! I shall rend you asunder using the Ultimate Excalibur Attack!” A decisive slam of a piece shook the board, and its sound was audible throughout the church. “Check.” Hifumi returned to her meeker tone, her face slightly crimson.

Akira took one last look at the board, and offered his hand in resignation. Defeated again. At least he put up somewhat of a fight this time. This was no time for self-loathing on his part, however, as Hifumi was clearly turning her gaze inward, embarrassed.  
“Ah… I did it again, didn’t I?” Her voice was barely above a whisper. “I’m sorry. I get too into shogi. When I was young, my father told me to envision myself as the queen of the kingdom. He would invent all these scenarios to help me learn the rules, and I just… never grew out of them. I’m sorry.”

“Hey…” Akira’s voice lost its mischievous, trickster edge for something much kinder. “I don’t mind. Actually, I think it’s kind of cool how invested you get into the game. It’s impressive.” He wasn’t particularly good at the whole “comforting” thing, but he could try his best. He put on his best smile, trying to raise her spirits. Somehow, it even worked, a little.

“Really? Everyone online…They say I’m a nerd. Or that I’m an otaku. And they make fun of me.” Hifumi pulled her knees close to her chest. “I mean, I am weird. I know that.”

“Don’t worry about them. And I won’t make fun of you. Well, not unless you want me to.” A subtle wink. He wasn’t sure if he pulled that off, but his friends told him that was part of what made him charming. “Hey, do you think you can teach me the Ultimate Excalibur Attack, Togo-san?”

That perked her up. “Well… your fundamentals are still weak, though your grasp of the rules are much stronger. The Ultimate Excalibur Attack is a quite advanced move that I made up myself, but I suppose since you are so entranced by it, we could work towards that.” When she returned to her subject of confidence, her words sped up to a mile a minute, and her voice regained its forcefulness. “I will do my best to train you in the Togo style of play, Akira-kun.”

Akira responded with a tongue-in-cheek salute. “Yes, Togo-sensei. At your service.”

Hifumi giggled. Akira wasn’t sure if he’d heard her laugh yet, so that was good progress. “Well, we should wrap up for the day. My pupil arrived late, after all. I have other work to attend to, as well.” She pointed at Akira with joking scorn. “We’ll continue another day. I’ll text you.”

Akira headed for the exit, but Hifumi’s voice called him back over top of the pews. Her voice hushed once again, she beckoned him in, as if she had some sort of secret to share. “I thought I would warn you. I have a photoshoot coming out in one of the weekly magazines soon.”

“Warn me?” A raised eyebrow, and a surprised tone of voice. Akira certainly wouldn’t expect most people to talk that way about a photoshoot. “You aren’t planning to do a photoshoot of a murder or something, right?”

Suddenly, his jokes were taken a lot less lightly. He earned a death glare for that one, before she continued on in her morose tone. “No, not like that… I just didn’t want you to be surprised. To be honest, I didn’t even really want to do it. But my mother thinks it’ll be good.” She clearly did not share her mother’s optimism. “Well, maybe it’ll get more people interested in shogi. That’s the hope.”

Hifumi stood up. “Well, like I said. I should be going.”

Akira wasn’t at home in chilly atmospheres like this, but he had to say something. “I’m sorry, Togo-san. You have my number if you need to talk.”

She smiled up at him. It was clearly to cover for her despair, as it didn’t reach her ears, but it still seemed someone genuine. “Thank you, Akira-kun.”

He heard one last sentence as the two parted ways outside the church. “Oh, and feel free to call me Hifumi.”


	3. Reluctant Venus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira realizes what's true about his new confidant and what isn't. He chooses to face reality rather than the constructs built up around her.

“Hey, Akira.” Sojiro’s voice echoed through the rafters of Leblanc, awakening the boy from his peaceful slumber. “Don’t mean to wake you, but when you get the chance, come down here.”

_Well, it’s a little late now to be wishing not to wake me up. On the weekend, too._ Akira grumbled internally to himself. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, throwing his sleep clothes into the corner of his room and hurriedly throwing on a casual outfit. Thank God Morgana hadn’t woken up yet. He didn’t need him to see him naked, but he didn’t have time to waste - he figured if Sojiro wanted him, it must be important.

The savory smell of Sojiro’s curry and coffee took hold of him as he descended the stairs. He had been living in Leblanc for several months now, but the wonderful atmosphere of the cafe was still a delight to him. He had tried to express that point to Sojiro, but the cafe owner took it as if Akira had been mocking him. Their relationship hadn’t been that close yet. Perhaps he should bring it up again sometime.

As was typical, the cafe was deserted save for Sojiro and Akira. He wouldn’t comment on that. He didn’t want to upset Sojiro, and frankly, he was beginning to believe that Leblanc’s financial success was irrelevant to both its continued existence and Sojiro’s financial stability. He sat himself at the counter, Sojiro sliding him a plate of curry and a cup of coffee, black, Guatemalan SHB, just the way he preferred it. “Enjoy.” Sojiro seemed in a fairly positive mood this morning - normally, his provided free meals did not come with anything above passivity.

“Sorry to wake you up. I just found something you might be interested in. One of my customers was reading this.” He pushed a tabloid magazine across the table to Akira. “This that girl you were talking about the other day?”

The magazine’s cover was adorned with a picture of his confidant dressed in traditional Japanese garb. Her face had a smile on it, but Akira knew she couldn’t be enjoying this. He could see it in her eyes.

He snatched up the magazine and gave it another look over. “ _The Venus of Shogi_ ”, read the cover. “ _Hifumi Togo causes an idol wave in shogi leagues_ ”. This was the photo shoot she was talking about… this doesn’t really fit her personality at all. These people don’t know the real Hifumi. He couldn’t get those thoughts out of his head.

“Look, just make sure you don’t cause any trouble for yourself, alright? She’s famous. Don’t do anything untoward. I don’t wanna have to do any more paperwork for you.” Sojiro said, tending to the coffee siphons.

“It’s nothing like that, don’t worry.” Akira kept looking over the cover. _Her mother thought this was good? What did this have to do with shogi?_ He stuffed the magazine into his bag - luckily Morgana was still asleep, else he’d have been caught in the crossfire. It legitimately started to irritate him. It wasn’t his business, though. If she agreed to it - well, she must be okay with it. Right?

* * *

“Jesus effin’ Christ Joker, you’re fighting harder than I’ve seen you for a while!” Skull looked on astonished as Joker dispatched another shadow with extreme prejudice. “Well… in Mementos, at least. You were pretty pissed back with Kamoshida.” Blood-red veins surrounded them, lining the cognitive subway walls. Another group of shadows had hit the floor, and instead of the negotiation that Joker would often utilize, he commanded the rest to attack with all their ferocity. It was out of character for him, and everyone could see that something was wrong - not that it affected his combat ability. He seemed unstoppable.

“Sorry, guys. I’m, uh… a little irritated today.”

“That is clearly evident.” Fox’s bluntness was unsurprising, but cutting nonetheless. “Are you sure you wish to continue? While I support our becoming stronger, it seems some relaxation may be useful for you.”

“Yeah.” The adrenaline started to leave Joker’s body, and words became short. “Let’s get back to the entrance.”

Joker sat in the back, looking out the window of the Morgana car. He didn’t speak another word to his comrades, hands fidgeting in his lap. When they left Mementos, he bid them adieu, heading for the bathhouse.

“Will you be at the church tomorrow?” His text to Hifumi was laconic but direct. After sending it, he packed away his things in a coin locker and sank into the bath, letting the heat of the bath take the edge of his irritation. _Why did this bother him so much?_ His muscles were no longer tense, but his mind was still racing. _Answer: because he knew the real Hifumi and that wasn’t her._

A half hour later, and he dried himself off. As he returned to Leblanc to sleep, a small buzz on his phone. “I was planning to be there. I would love to have a match.”

Great. He wanted to see the _real_ Hifumi. Was it too much to bring this up? Probably. He’d have to play it by ear.

* * *

“I! Can’t! Believe! It! You touched my hand! Oh my God! I’m never gonna wash it again!” Shrill screams of a fanboy pierced the solemn air of the church, worship of the divine replaced with worship of an idol who desired no such idolatry.

“No, what? Please do wash it!” Equal parts surprise and disgust. It was clear that this was not a girl who either was comfortable with the tribulation of being an idol nor desired to be. Despite this, her new worshipper was undeterred.

“I heard online that you pray to God here before every match!”

“That’s not true…” _Where had they come up with that?_ Confusion flooded her thoughts. _Well, I suppose playing in a church may lead to people getting the wrong idea…_

“Can I take a selfie with you and put it on my Twitter?” The interloping fan seemed almost rabid at this point. Maybe that was just her imagination.  
“Sorry, I’ve been turning down all such requests. If I let you, you know, I’d have to let everyone…” Of course, she had no desire to allow this person to take a picture even if it could be a one time occurrence, but the tabloids would certainly pick up a story if her rejection was leaked and could be spun as rudeness- depending on the pull of the publication, maybe even if it couldn’t. Playing the practiced, political game of fame was exhausting, even when it was fame as minor as hers. 

“Well, anyway, I hope you’re able to truly become the first woman to ever surpass the three-dan league in professional shogi. I’ll be rooting for your success.” _Yes_ , she thought to herself, _I’m sure you care deeply about my success in the sport. _The young man ran off, looking like if he had any more adrenaline in him his body would fall apart. As he left, he passed by the raven-haired shogi novice, who had come for another bout of training in the gladiatorial arena that was the church, or so she presumed. He looked disturbed - had he heard? (He had, of course. It was impossible not to, given how loud that fan had been.)__

__Akira nervously brushed his hand through the back of his hair. “I, uh, didn’t know there’d be paparazzi here.” He expected that joke to get him a glare, but instead, it seemed to lift Hifumi’s mood slightly._ _

__She responded not yet with casual conversation, but a curled finger, a glint in the eye, and a challenge. “Come, General Kurusu. The battlefield awaits.”_ _

__The two began another game, and in the lulls of the flow of battle, Hifumi finally started to open up a bit. “So… I did the photoshoot.”_ _

__Akira suddenly froze mid-move. _Do I mention I saw it? Is that weird? Will she think I’m just like that guy from before? Best not to, perhaps._ “You seem unenthused. Didn’t go well?”_ _

__Hifumi sighed deeply. “I suppose it went fine, from a technical perspective. They achieved exactly what they set out to do. Now my face is plastered on however-many thousands of magazines, and whatever pittance of the space they give to shogi will surely be ignored…”_ _

__Akira clicked his piece down. He thought that was quite a good move, but now didn’t seem like the time to ask for confirmation. “So why did you do it?”_ _

__Hifumi paid the barest attention to the board. Her attention on the game was waning. “Well, I don’t want to disappoint her. She’s so invested in what I do, but I think sometimes she’d prefer to be the manager of a celebrity than help foster my ability at shogi.”_ _

__“You should tell her how you feel.”_ _

__“It’s not that easy. She seems to think this is the only way she’ll ever be happy - through me. Is it right to let her dreams die like that?”_ _

___When they’re causing you this much stress, absolutely._ That’s what Akira wanted to say, but he knew he couldn’t make the statement that blunt. That’d have to wait for later. Not that he didn’t have other ideas of how to convince her mother to let her daughter follow her own heart, but it wasn’t right to jump straight to using that power, especially not for something so comparatively minor compared to Kamoshida and Madarame. Instead, he shifted the tone of conversation. “Well, I think your shogi play is quite advanced. Especially compared to mine.”_ _

__“Oh! Right! It’s my move, is it not. Sincere apologies. I should focus more on teaching you and less talking about my mother.”_ _

__“I don’t mind. I want to know the real you.”_ _

__“Thank you, Akira-kun.” Hifumi smirked, and a sharp clack resounded through the church. “That is checkmate.”_ _

__“Hey! You distracted me with conversation!” Akira feigned sorrow. “How cruel!”_ _

__“I owe you some kind of training for listening to me, and the best way to learn is to be crushed underfoot by superior tactics. Here, I’ll explain more. Notice how I used the pawns I captured from you to apply pressure to your front lines…” Akira listened to every word, considering how this tactic could be used for his real goals. Applying pressure - sensical, simple in concept, harder to master. He’d have to think about this._ _

__“Thank you, Hifumi-kun. This has been very enlightening. We should hang out again soon.”_ _

__“Hang out? I was under the impression we were training…” Hifumi’s face changed from shocked to smiling. “But, I wouldn’t actually mind that. I’ll let you know.”_ _

__As soon as Akira was at the train station and therefore far out of sight, he pulled the magazine out of his bag and tore it up, throwing it unceremoniously into a nearby waste bin. That wasn’t the Hifumi Togo he knew. He had no intention of learning about a fake. The real one was far more interesting._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you're enjoying as our two main characters get to know each other. I think Wednesday/Saturday will end up being my release schedule from here on out. Thanks for reading!


	4. Misunderstandings and Misreadings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Makoto joins the Thieves and thinks one of Akira's many "deals" is a little suspect. At Jinbocho, someone else has the same idea. Why on Earth do people keep thinking this?

Before long, Akira found himself busy with yet another catastrophe threatening to destroy his life. Debates with their student council president over the true meaning of “justice” had led to them getting involved with the Yakuza. Akira’s communication with Hifumi had been limited to text conversations, but he made sure to keep up his bonds. Unfortunately, with the threat of blackmail on the line, the poor boy had very little energy for shogi strategy. His text conversations were brief, but he took care that appearances were that everything was fine. With their few conversations that week being a recommendation by Togo for a place where Akira could practice online and a heartfelt thanks from her after a move she had practiced against him helped her win a match in her recent league match. He appreciated the companionship, but he didn’t have much time to think of shogi.

“Akira, these new strategies you’re introducing are quite advanced.” Yusuke looked over the diagrams that Akira had hastily sketched in class. “I assume Togo-san has been quite helpful?”

“More than helpful, Yusuke. She has been…” Akira searched for the right words. “Enlightening.”

“Enlightening, huh?” Makoto was still new to the group meetings, being added somewhat reticently after Kaneshiro’s threats, but she was already gelling with the group dynamic. “Is ‘enlightening’ a word you’d use often for your acquaintances like this, or is that just a her thing?” Her tone of voice implied a relationship that her actual words left unstated.

The usually unflappable leader of the Thieves was rendered speechless for a moment, before recovering his composure. “I assure you - it’s nothing like that. I mean, no one else has commented on it. Right, guys?”

The rest of the Thieves shook their heads. Makoto spoke up again, hints of sarcasm present in her voice. “Well, I suppose you’re right. I wouldn’t want to impugn the vast intelligence of the other members of the team.”

* * *

The team worked together flawlessly, and within days had managed to clear an infiltration route through Kaneshiro’s Palace and send the calling card. When the time came, Shibuya was plastered with declarations of war against the mobster consumed by gluttony and greed, and the thieves pulled off an incredible heist. New tactics at his side, Joker was able to command his compatriots to weave effortlessly in and out of the battle with Kaneshiro, conquering his Shadow and saving the fate of the group, along with receiving a grim portent regarding a black masked figure.

When they left the Metaverse, and Joker once more became Akira, he felt like every bone in his body was aching. His mind was empty. God, he forgot how much fighting in the Metaverse took out of him, and commanding the party was a mental drain. He half-slumped on Ryuji’s shoulder until he got to the subway. It was a good thing there was an empty seat.

Barely making it out of the Yongen-Jaya station, Akira stumbled through the doors of Leblanc, fending off the worried questions from Sojiro. “Long day, don’t worry.” Sojiro’s eyes narrowed, but he wasn’t going to fight too hard. Akira dropped his bag down on his desk, resulting in a yelp from the cat contained within, then collapsed onto his bed. Mere moments before he fell asleep, he managed to type out a quick message to one of his confidants - “hey sorry exhausted wanna meet up tomorrow night?”

Morgana shoved his way out of the bag on Akira’s desk. “Hey, put me down more gently!” His cries were interrupted by the soft snoring from the other side of the room. He’d complain in the morning, instead he curled up by Akira’s feet.

Somewhere on the other side of Tokyo, Hifumi heard a buzz on her phone, checked it, and smiled. “I’d love to.” She drifted off to sleep too, feeling an implacable happiness in her heart.

* * *

Akira barely managed to drag himself out of bed the next morning. Jeez, that took more out of him than he expected. He supposed it only made sense as their targets became more powerful. He needed to spend more time training. He looked up to the beam above his room, and the pain in his muscles flared up again. Okay, spend more time training _later_. 

He somehow managed to get through school (thank Kawakami for covering for his taking a nap in class, she was a saint, truly) and stumbled his way home.

“Morgana? Wake me up in a few hours. I need to sleep, but I need to visit Hifumi tonight.” And for the second time in as many days, he fell asleep immediately. Man, phantom thievery was exhausting.

His next memory after a dreamless sleep was yowls coming from above him. “Hey!! Akira! Wake up, you’re gonna be late!” Just as he felt claws coming out, he summoned all the energy he could, placated Morgana, and headed downstairs. Sojiro passed him a cup of coffee, which he tried to chug. Ow! Too hot - but that’ll wake him up.

“I’m gonna go see Togo-san.”

Sojiro smirked. “Well, if you’re going to be playing something so mentally taxing like shogi, it seems like you needed something like that. Though, I don’t like the idea of you drinking my coffee just to stay awake. There’s a lot of work put in for that nice flavor! You’d better appreciate it.”

* * *

“Ah, welcome, Akira-kun.” Hifumi was sitting at her usual place in the church, but seemed far less invested in the minutiae of her game than was typical. Akira plopped himself down beside her. “Whoa! Are you feeling okay, Akira?” Her polished speech slipped a little from genuine concern. Akira responded with a beaming smile, despite the bags under his eyes.

“It’s nothing! Just had a long day yesterday.” He yawned, stretching his arms skyward, for effect. “Ready to play? I think I’ve got you this time.”

“Mm, sure.” A hint of smugness in her voice, which faded quickly. She remembered she had something else to ask Akira. “By the way after this game, would you like to come to Jinbocho with me? I go there sometimes to try to find old shogi books. You can find a lot of interesting ideas if you study classic, important games, and…” Words were spilling out of her mouth. When she got into her groove, she could really talk at length. “Oh, but if you don’t want to, it’s no worry. I did promise to teach you, not take you to random bookstores.”

“I’d love to.”

“R-really?” She looked almost shocked. “Well. One match, then we can head over.” Clack. “Oh, and we’ll probably have to take the subway. I invited you, so do you need me to pay your fare? It isn’t reasonable for me to expect the guest to pay, after all.”

Joker demurred. “No need, but I appreciate it. I’ve recently come into some money, so I’ll be fine.”

* * *

Jinbocho was a sight to behold. The small district felt like it contained thousands of unseen treasures hidden within these used-book stores, only for the want of an antiquarian to sort through the piles. Akira, for himself, had experienced just about enough treasure hunting for the last few days, so he followed Hifumi around the district, searching through the ersatz archives along with her for anything that seemed even remotely related to shogi.

“Mm, is this any good?” Akira spotted a familiar looking symbol on the cover of one book, and freed it from its tomb beneath similarly forgotten tomes. He handed it over to Hifumi for identification.

“Ooh, quite good!” Her eyes lit up at the sight of the title, tracing her finger along it as she read it aloud. “ _An Analysis of the Habu v. Katou game of 1989_. This game was really famous. It was the big breakout for shogi child prodigy Habu.”

“Winning so much so early in life - an idol for you, perhaps?” Akira winked.

“Hush.” Despite her protestations, she was smiling. “Well, I have already studied this game extensively, and even something so in-depth as a full book devoted to it probably provides little benefit… but it’s a shame to let such a book molder here.” She brought her fingers to her chin in thought. “Ah! It’ll be a gift to you! For listening to me when I ramble about my troubles.”

“I assure you, Hifumi-kun, I don’t need anything like that. I’m happy already to receive your teaching-”

“And this is part of it. I want you to study this. Next time we play, you had better implement some of the strategies Habu used.” She held out the book in both hands, and Akira gingerly held it. He wasn’t sure how old this book was, and he didn’t want to damage it.

“We do have to pay for it, though. We can’t just take it.” Akira was blunt, sort of shattering the grand pomp and circumstance Hifumi had summoned.

“Ah, right. Sorry. I get kind of lost in the moment sometimes.”

“It’s okay, it’s endearing.”

Hifumi’s face went red, and suddenly she couldn’t look Akira in the eyes for a minute.

The two continued walking through Jinbocho at a relaxed pace, enjoying the din of the nearby establishments as Hifumi continued to wax excitedly about the rare shogi books she had found here in the past. Their leisurely walk was interrupted by a woman Akira didn’t know, with a face that implied he probably didn’t want to, either.

“Hello, Hifumi.” The woman said coldly.

“Ah… hello. I hope your match went well today!” Hifumi’s attempt at diplomacy was rejected, a cold stare being her only reward.

“We didn’t have matches today. You should know that.”

“Ah, yes, of course. My apologies.”

“Out shopping with your boyfriend, hm? So openly? How interesting.” If Hifumi’s face wasn’t red before, it certainly was now. “I guess you are a famous shogi player after all. Though some people seem to think you want to become an idol. I’ve seen your photoshoot, after all.”

“It’s- it’s not like that! He’s my-” Hifumi stuttered out an explanation, but was cut off.

“It’s okay. You two enjoy your night.” Despite the meaning of the words at face value, the platitudes she spoke seemed almost spat out, venomous and spiteful. When the woman had gone, Hifumi turned to Akira, apologetic.

“I’m so sorry for her. She’s my senior, and I beat her in a title match recently. Since then, she’s been… well, you saw.”

Akira nodded. “Bad vibes.”

“That’s one way to put it.” Hifumi said. “It seems the more I succeed, the more people end up disliking me and spreading lies about me. Then on the other hand, the obsessed fans, like you saw the other week…” Hifumi trailed off, then sprung back to conversation when it seemed like she realized a connection. “It’s sort of like - do you think it’s the same with the Phantom Thieves?”

Uh oh. Akira had to play this carefully. Don’t reveal too much, don’t say anything that can be taken out of context. Poker face. “Hm? Those guys from the news? Yeah, people seem to take very strong opinions on them. There’s some real haters, but also some real weirdos.” Mishima’s face was burned into his mind as he said that. “I think they’re cool, though.”

Hifumi’s face lit up. “Me too. I hesitate to talk about it, because I think people would find it too over-the-top with how I end up acting during some games, but I have to respect heroes of justice!”

_If only she knew who she was speaking to_ , Akira thought to himself. “So, are you planning to become a hero of justice yourself? Anyone need their heart stolen?”

Hifumi giggled. “Nothing like that, yet. I do the best with what I can. I do wonder how they accomplish what they accomplish, from a tactical standpoint... Oh! Sorry! It’s getting late, we should finish up! I usually don’t end up talking this much, but I feel so open with you.”

“I feel the same, Hifumi-kun. Talking to you is very enlightening, even outside of the, uh, Togo Kingdom.” Another laugh. She really seemed more positive today than on most days before. The two finished purchasing their books, then headed their separate ways. Before he went to bed, Akira sent Hifumi a hastily photoshopped image of herself wearing the mask that had become the popular image of the Phantom Thieves. “The Star of Justice”, read his attached description.

When he woke up, he noticed her chat icon had changed to that picture of her wearing the mask.


	5. Megalomania

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hifumi deals with family problems and Akira helps as much as he can.

“I’ve got important business to conduct, Hifumi-chan. I’m working really hard to set something up for your future. _Our_ future.” Mitsuyo Togo, Hifumi’s mother, said with a barely concealed frustration. “I’ll be back sometime tonight. You should be practicing for public speech. You’re never going to become famous if you get so flustered in public.”

“Yes, mother.” Hifumi replied, her voice tinged with sadness.

“Thank you, Hifumi. Oh, and what is that horrible chat app avatar? Change it back at once. If someone in the public sees that, who knows what kind of things they’ll say about you? Foolish.”

“It’s just a little joke picture a friend of mine made. He and I were talking about the Phantom Thieves at Jinbocho, and-”

“He? Jinbocho? Hifumi, I thought I had been very clear you were not allowed to date. People don’t become idols if they’re dating someone. It’s part of the lifestyle.”

“It’s not like that!” Hifumi lashed out. “He’s my shogi friend.”

“Well, he’d better be. My rules are clear. Now then.” Mitsuyu left, slamming the door dramatically. Hifumi sat on the stairs nearby, huddling around her knees. She started to cry. _Her mother wasn’t always like this. Why did this happen? Why did her mother care so much about this idol stuff?_ She opened up her chat app, swiped over to her profile. A little image of herself, crudely edited with a mask. She sighed, switching it back to the standard headshot she used before. She sent out a message to Akira. “Sorry. I really like your picture, but my mom seems to think it’ll cause public shame. She’s really acting strange lately.”

Only a few moments later, a buzz. “It’s okay. I’m glad you like it. See you at the church tonight?” Well, she hadn’t been planning to, but…

“Alright, sure. I’ll be there!” She flipped through the stickers available on her chat app. She wasn’t really in the habit of using them, but she found a cute panda with a confident thumbs up and attached it. Not really her style, but she hoped Akira enjoyed it.

* * *

Akira, for his part, was engaged in yet another complicated heist. The Phantom Thieves' hopes rested on Alibaba, who was actually Sojiro’s foster daughter, who had asked them to steal her own heart, and, and- he needed a day to rest, gather his thoughts. He had managed to snag a seat on the subway a few times, and Kawakami ran interference during one class, so he had managed to read the shogi book Hifumi had given him front to back. Whether he fully comprehended it was another matter, but hey, he did what he could. Silently praying she’d be available, he had sent off a message to Hifumi, who had responded affirmatively. Finally, a chance to talk about something other than thievery. Turns out saving society ended up monopolizing a lot of your time.

Hours later, he reached the church once again. However, instead of seeing his confidant quietly studying at a shogi board, she seemed to be arguing with an older woman. Well, arguing was a strong word. It was more like she was getting berated.

“Honestly, Hifumi, you should be glad I checked here first. I was going to call the police! Do you just think you can show up here whenever you want?” The older woman standing over Hifumi was almost shouting. Akira stood awkwardly in the background, trying not to get involved. Maybe this church was less of a peaceful place than he expected.

“I’m sorry, Mother…” _Ah, that explains it_ , Akira thought to himself. He certainly was no stranger to fights with parents. “It was a last minute request from my shogi friend. I thought you’d understand.”

“Your shogi friend again, hm? Ah, is this him?” She pointed out Akira, who had apparently been failing to blend into the background. “Let me tell you something, young man. You had better not be harboring any feelings for Hifumi.” She turned back to her daughter. “You are better than him, Hifumi. Once you’re famous, you’ll be able to get as many as guys as you want, much better than him.”

Hifumi was intensely frustrated. “Mother… please, stop! I told you, it’s not like that!”

“Well, I’m working on a deal now to get you a match against a very powerful player. A member of the Professional’s Shogi Leagues. I think this is going to be the match that finally propels you to stardom! If you insist on playing with this ‘shogi friend’ of yours, very well, but let him know he won’t be around much longer. You’ll have greater things.” Without even waiting for a response, her mother turned and walked away, heels clacking along the church floor.

Akira sheepishly turned toward Hifumi. “I’m sorry,” she said. “She’s become really obsessed with this whole idol business as of late. She keeps getting more and more involved, and…” She looked up to Akira, who had sat down and showed no signs of losing interest. With a quick nod, he motioned that she could continue. “My father was a shogi professional. He taught me, and like I told you, he’s the reason I have my embarrassing habit when I play.”

Akira saw the opening and went for it. “Mm. I’ll have to give him my thanks someday for making you such an interesting play partner.”

Hifumi continued, slightly off balance after Akira’s praise. “Well, he was very successful, until one day he simply collapsed. I think it was from the stress. And since then, he hasn’t been able to work, and my mother had to leave her job at the TV station to take care of our family. I’ve been willing to do these interviews and photoshoots because I want to help ease the burdens of our family. But, but…” Tears began to well up in her eyes, and Akira put a hand on her shoulder for support. “I just can’t do this anymore. She doesn’t care about how I play. Nobody respects me for my skill anymore. They all just see me as an idol.”

Akira tried to maintain a calm atmosphere. This wasn’t the first person he’d had cry in conversation with him, and he wanted to help as much as he could. Voice quiet and considerate, he asked, “Have you tried talking to your mother about it?”

She nodded her head. “She doesn’t listen. It’s like she completely changed after my dad collapsed. She thinks she’s doing what’s best for me.” She wiped her tears on Akira’s sleeve. “I’m - I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be spending so much time on this. I’m supposed to be teaching you. Here, let’s-”

“No, no. Hifumi, take as much time as you need.”

“Are you sure?” Her eyes were reddened from crying.

“It’s what friends are for, right?”

“Yeah. Thank you, Akira. I feel a lot better now. Thank you for listening. I’m sorry Mother was so rude to you.”

Akira flashed a soft smile at her. “If you ever need to talk, you have my number. I’m available.”

Hifumi nodded. “Now then, the match. Don’t think I’m going to go easy on you just because you were kind to me.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way, Queen Togo.”

“Now, I assume you’ve done your homework, General Kurusu? I’ll be testing you with strategies from the match described in that book. You had better be prepared.”

Akira opened with a defensive strategy, king contained within his metaphorical castle walls. As Hifumi launched her attack, he found it much easier to parry her all-out attacks, and exploit the openings those attacks left. Unfortunately, as the battle went on, he still found himself falling behind. Hifumi knew exactly how to drop her captured pieces, turning a war of attrition into certain doom for him and his army. It didn’t take the battle much longer before he knew what to do.

“I concede.” He bowed his head before his conqueror. Hifumi half-stifled a giggle at the overdramatic performance.

“Your dignity in loss has grown so much, Akira-kun. And I must say, your early game has improved greatly. I am proud of your improvement.”

It was Akira’s turn to be embarrassed. He rubbed at his glasses, stammering out a thanks.

“Now, Akira-kun, next time we can focus on your mid-game and captured piece dropping. Unfortunately, that will have to wait. My school trip is next week, so I won’t be available. My deepest apologies.”

_Good timing_ , Akira thought to himself. “Oh, ours too, actually. How serendipitous. Do you want me to bring you back a souvenir?” He winked at Hifumi, but he did genuinely mean it.

“I’d appreciate that. Do you want something from Los Angeles?” She smiled at him. Traces of her sadness from earlier were gone. She felt so at peace talking with Akira.

“Make sure it’s something cool. And don’t let Yusuke do anything weird, or I’ll have to deal with it when he gets back.”

“Oh! Before you go!” Hifumi called out to him, pulling something out of her bag and hiding it behind her back. When Akira returned to her, she revealed her hidden object - one of the faux calling cards that could be purchased in many stores nowadays. She handed it to him.

The words were not laid out in the magazine cut-out style of the actual calling cards, but instead the careful lettering of his friend. “ _Akira Kurusu, the commander of disorder - your tactics have led to the death of your soldiers and collapse of your empire. I will change your heart and improve your tactics. - Hifumi Togo_.”

Hifumi smiled, slightly bashful but still excited. “I saw it in the shop and thought you would enjoy it.”

In response, Akira looked at it seriously for a moment, then clutched at his chest dramatically. “You’ve taken my heart, Thief Hifumi.” The two separated for the night, but neither could stop thinking about it. Akira placed the card on the shelf next to his bed, while Hifumi couldn’t sleep, mind fixated on the overdramatic shogi novice who had been overdramatic, fluttering his eyelashes in such a way that she wasn’t sure if it was intentional flair or just something she had picked up on on her own.

* * *

Three days later, the Phantom Thieves entered Futaba Sakura’s palace, as did Futaba herself. Cognitive distortions fell before them, and Futaba accepted herself before entering a long sleep. When she woke up, she had a conversation with Akira before the group collected itself at Leblanc.

“Akira, I heard something while I was listening to you. I think you were at some church, based on GPS coordinates…” Futaba tapped away at her laptop while speaking with Akira.

“You what? You were listening to my phone?”

“Of course! How else was I to determine your progress on my heart? That’s the way of Alibaba!” Futaba dramatically posed, light reflecting off her glasses. “But I heard you were losing at shogi. Quite badly! It made me take pity on you, I was going to send you angry texts about you slacking until I heard your defeat. Anyway, I found some shogi engines online. If you want, next time I can secretly transmit all the moves you should take. You’ll win for sure!”

“No, Futaba. It’s not about winning. It’s about learning from Hifumi.”

“Ooooooooh.” Futaba’s eyes lit up like she had just made some grand revelation. “So it’s that kind of thing, hm?”

Akira began to protest, but it seemed Futaba had already made her mind up. Was this really so unusual? Was he missing something?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone is enjoying the story. Next time - Hawaii trip!


	6. Words We Left Unsaid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Serendipity on the Hawaii trip makes Akira and Hifumi confront internal feelings.

The sterile atmosphere of the airport was a far cry was the warm, cozy ambience of Leblanc or even the chaos of the Shibuya overhead tunnel - but the Phantom Thieves of Hearts were meeting here anyway. Well, most of them. Yusuke would not leave until later, with the rest of the Kosei delegation, including Hifumi. Morgana and Futaba, on the other hand, were researching new targets at the Sakura household. The four thieves who were on this particular trip found themselves meeting not for the next heist, but instead a relaxing vacation to the island of Oahu, Hawaii. Well, as relaxing a vacation as a school trip could be.

“Dude! Do you think we’ll find anybody whose heart we gotta change there?” Ryuji spoke a little too loudly for the comfort of the others in the conversation, but luckily it seemed that the general chaos of the airport lobby and others’ apprehension to butting in meant that nobody else heard it.

“You know we’re only gonna be there for like, three days, right?” Ann tapped out a few last messages on her phone, sunglasses covering her eyes.

“Well, if we’re only goin’ for three days, why did you pack so much?” Ryuji gestured to Ann’s backpack, which looked stuffed to the brim, along with the similarly bulging suitcase she held in one hand.

“You’d rather bring too much than too little! I mean, did you even bring enough to last that long?” Ryuji’s luggage did seem scant by comparison, but his self-assuredness seemed unfazed.

With typical (for him) confidence, he replied, “Eh, I’ll manage somehow. What about you dude? Anything you’re excited to do while we’re there?” He turned toward the silent boy who had been standing to the side, letting the two work out their mutual friendly aggression.

To be honest, he wasn’t sure what he was excited for. He had spent much of the last while working on Phantom Thieves business, and had used a great deal of the time left over either studying for exams or studying for shogi. “Eh, I’ll figure it out when we get there. I don’t wanna stick too hard to a schedule or something and feel constrained.”

“Ah, yeah, like just lettin’ the spirit of adventure take you? I like that! You got some interesting ideas, Akira.” Ryuji was beaming, the excitement of the trip clearly taking hold of him.

“Or, you just forgot to plan anything out…” Ann saw through Akira’s obvious lie immediately.

“Hey, it could be both of those things.” Akira replied, slightly bashful but able to attempt to turn any social situation back to his advantage.

“‘Ey, Makoto!” Ryuji shouted across the lobby, where their beleaguered student council president was poring over a clipboard. The girl walked over, her hand still moving as she wrote things down on a seemingly unmanageable mess of papers.

“What are you three up to?” Makoto was the responsible one of the group, and on top of that had been designated one of the trip chaperones due to the chaos of the Kamoshida incident. Due to this, her already harried demeanor was turned up to eleven.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry. We’ll be good.” Ryuji’s smile would normally make that statement not so reassuring, but Makoto was willing to believe to take one burden off her shoulders. “Anyway, Miss President, what are your plans for the trip?”

“Well, assuming I can steal any time away from these chaperone duties, I would love to take some time to read on the beach. Though I will admit, given your class, my hopes for having such free time are low.” She grimaced. “Kobayakawa better write me a good letter of recommendation after all this.”

“Ooh, ooh! Let’s take a picture together! It’s a big important moment in our lives, right, and Makoto’s even here too!” Ann said, excitedly.

“Oh, good idea!” Makoto’s eyes lit up. “Akira, can you take the picture?”

Akira nodded silently and pulled out his phone. He framed his three friends, setting off the camera after a “say cheese!” Before his friends rushed up to see if the picture had turned out well, he pressed a button to turn on his front-facing camera, and snapped a picture of himself. Stylish.

Ryuji was the first to look over Akira’s shoulder. “Aw, man! We look great! Nobody could ever tell we were-”

“Ryuji, we’re in public.” Makoto shot him a death glare.

“Right, right.” He brushed it off. “Still though, that hidden in plain sight look? Killing it.” He stressed those last words in a way that proved he thought it was just sublime.

Once it was clear that everyone there was happy with the photo and he had sent it off to all of them as well as the group chat, he also fired off a message to Hifumi. “Hope you’re excited and rested for LA. I’m up too early for this.” He attached the selfie he had taken earlier.

“Uhh, Earth to Akira? We’re boarding.” Ryuji tapped him on the shoulder.

“Oh, sorry. Had to finish something off last minute.”

* * *

The jet lag was the first thing Akira noticed upon landing. His body was telling him it was night, but the sun shone proudly in the sky. The weather was the next. A pleasant warmth. Alright, he was ready for this. Time to take some time and relax. He toggled airplane mode off on his phone, and a notification popped up immediately. A message from Hifumi. “We don’t leave until after you all, so have a safe flight! (PS: Glasses are to hide from the media.)” Attached was a picture of her, wearing some large sunglasses that did not fit her style in the least. _Cute_ , he thought to himself, _though I doubt many journalists on the shogi beat are going to be staking out the airport._

Before long, Akira found himself with the rest of the students from Shujin, running through the administrative minutiae of a school trip that would ideally prevent the students from coming into harm, but chiefly would prevent legal liability on the part of the school.

“Okay, you all need to figure out room assignments.” Kawakami’s voice was tired, but she still was able to overcome the roar of the crowd. “Three to a room, please. And don’t try anything funny, please.” Her sentence ended with something that sounded almost like an admission of defeat. She hoped she’d still be able to speak by the end of this trip.

Ryuji approached, followed by Mishima perhaps not of his own volition. “Yo, Akira? Wanna room with us two?”

Akira nodded quickly. “That works.”

Ann and Makoto arrived next. “Sorry, guys, had to work out room assignments.” Ann smiled. Makoto looked relaxed for the first time on the trip.

“You know, once I got here, it doesn’t seem so bad to chaperone. As long as you guys don’t start any trouble.” She cast a firm eye toward Akira and Ryuji once more.

“Man, this all feels too similar to home. We’re all inside, with our school, and we’re all together just talking. It’s so samey! Isn’t that right, Yusu- Wait, what?!” Ryuji gestured towards the blue-haired artist who had furtively snuck into the conversation at some point.

“Hm? No, I agree. It all does feel very familiar.” Yusuke had his hand on his chin, voice tinged with melancholy.

“No, not that! How are you even here? Aren’t you supposed to be in Los Angeles?” Ryuji’s mouth was agape, perhaps at the strangeness of the situation or just at Yusuke’s general lack of social grace.

“Oh! There was a storm brewing on the West Coast of the United States, so our pilot decided to land us here instead. Luckily, we were able to make last-minute arrangements.”

“Wait!” Akira spoke up suddenly. “Does that mean Togo-san is here as well?”

“I presume, though I don’t know where she is at the moment. Why?”

“You guys keep talking. I have to go make some texts.” Akira hurriedly fled the group for a more secluded area.

“Does he think he’s being slick?” Ann asked, after Akira was out of earshot.

“You know, Makoto, I didn’t notice it until you brought it up, but he’s really into that girl, huh?” Ryuji said.

“I don’t think he yet realizes that himself, is the problem.” Makoto replied.

* * *

“Hey, Yusuke just told me you guys landed here in Hawaii!” Akira tapped out a text quickly. The response came almost immediately.

“Yeah, it’s weird, but honestly I don’t mind it too much. The view of the beaches is great.” Hifumi paused for a moment before sending another text. “I’ll have some free time this evening. Would you like to join me?”

“Sounds lovely. Meet you around six?”

The day seemed to fade away so quickly after that. He vaguely remembered eating with the group at a Big Bang Burger and spending some time watching the sea and talking to the locals, but his mind was obviously elsewhere. Before Akira knew it, it was time to meet up. He carefully extricated himself from a conversation with Ryuji and Mishima, whose complaints and teasing he brushed off.

He arrived at the beach first, the sun still shining in the sky. Akira had been to the bathhouse enough to become used to having his shirt off in public, but he still felt a tinge of nervousness. That tinge of nervousness bloomed into a full on small-scale panic as he spotted Hifumi in the distance, looking radiant in her swimsuit. Far from the pictures he had seen in the magazine, she was still reserved, still herself - but also expressing a part of her that she didn’t usually.

“Hello, Akira.” Her face betrayed that she was nervous as well. “It’s quite nice out, isn’t it?”

Akira nodded. “It’s so nice out. How have you been enjoying Hawaii? Oh, do you want to go get dinner first? I passed a little garlic shrimp stand on the way.”

Hifumi smiled, and the two set off. As they walked, they talked about their trip experiences so far. “A lot of my classmates were really upset by the switch, but I didn’t really mind. It’s really nice here - and I got to meet up with you.”

Akira blushed. “You flatter me, Hifumi.” He winked at the girl. “I suppose I should thank the weather in California for letting me see you then?”

Hifumi laughed. “Who’s flattering whom now, Akira?”

Their short walk’s conclusion was made obvious by the strong smell of garlic in the air. “Oh my, it’s quite… pungent.” Hifumi said.

“Hey, are you guys from Japan?” The shrimp stand proprietor asked as the two approached.

“We are.” Hifumi smiled, her public persona voice switching on.

“What do you guys think of the Phantom Thieves? Aren’t they so cool!?”

Akira saw a moment to strike and felt a mischievous urge take over him. “She’s their biggest fan. She knows everything about them.”

“Wh-what?” Hifumi was stunned.

“Well, if you see them, make sure to change everyone’s heart so they love shrimp!”

_Well, it doesn’t quite work like that - we can’t just arbitrarily change people’s desires however we want_. Akira thought to himself. He couldn’t say that, because despite his little prank, he was the one who knew the most. The two ordered their food and went to a nearby bench.

“I’m going to get you back for that someday, Akira.” Hifumi said, a sparkle in her eye.

Akira, in turn, scratched at the back of his head. “Ahaha, I’m sorry. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. How’s the food?”

“Good, despite the overbearing smell. It’s been a while since I’ve had something so exotic.”

The two made scant conversation as they finished eating and day turned to night. The moon reflected off the ocean, as the crashing sounds of waves made a backdrop to their relaxation.

“It’s so beautiful…” Akira could barely get the words out.

“It’s stunning.” Hifumi said. “I’ve never seen anything this gorgeous.” She turned to Akira. “Thank you so much for spending today with me, Akira. You’re a great friend. You, uh, weren’t bored spending time with me, right?”

“Of course not, Hifumi.” _I could never be bored with you_ , he wanted to say, but he felt that came on too strong. “I had a lot of fun.”

“Thanks. Sorry, I just worry. It doesn’t feel like anyone else in my life cares about the real me.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

The two continued to stare out at the ocean, sharing a comfortable silence. Akira started to coalesce his thoughts. _He really liked Hifumi. He couldn’t run from this anymore. He had to face it. But with her mother, and his with the Phantom Thieves - it wasn’t the right time yet. But he wanted it so bad._

Next to him, Hifumi was lost in her own thoughts. With a little more confidence, she thought to herself, _I’d kiss him right now. Or at least wrap an arm around his shoulder. He really understood her, he was charming… but her mother would be furious. If only the Phantom Thieves could change her heart…_

“Akira, I want you to have this.” She pulled a charm from her pocket and placed it in his hand. A small charm of a turtle. “I found it at a shop here, and I thought it might bring you luck.”

Akira beamed. “Thank you, Hifumi. Maybe now I’ll be able to snag a match from you when we get home.”

Hifumi giggled. “We’ll see about that. I would like to play you when we get home. I’m excited. That said, we should get back to our hotels.”  
“It’s not that late. We can stay a little longer.” Hifumi felt her resistance fade.

“Alright, just a little longer. I wouldn’t want to miss these sights.” Before the two parted, they took a picture, the two smiling together on a moonlit beach, a moment frozen in time. Suddenly, their individual thoughts of love seemed a little less impossible, and going back to Japan offered them chances to make this real.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks as always for reading. Just a heads up - the next chapter will contain Royal content. I don't think it's anything that's a major spoiler, but in case you're trying to avoid such stuff fully - just letting you know.


	7. Talk to Me...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Note: This chapter contains references to Royal-exclusive content. No major story spoilers or anything, but if you're trying to avoid any Royal stuff, watch out.)
> 
> Akira lets himself be vulnerable so he can keep helping his friends. He is helping, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, warning: Contains minor Royal content.

Akira’s stomach was in knots. He had returned from Hawaii days ago, but the moment on the beach with Hifumi was trapped in his mind. He didn’t want to talk to the other Thieves about it - the only one who seemed to know the first thing about romance was Ann and even then, Akira had his doubts that that wasn’t just part of the model’s image. So, he came to the place he usually came to when he had some internal conflict that he found trouble resolving or even fully expressing.

Three quick raps on the door. “Doctor Maruki?” Akira asked through the door.

His question was met with a startled “Ah!” and the sound of something - or more accurately from the sound, a pile of somethings - scattering to the ground. The harried counselor answered the door a few moments later, glasses sitting askew on his face. “Oh, Kurusu-kun! I thought I had told you that my research can’t really be continued at the moment. I appreciate your dedication, but-”

Akira interrupted. “I just need some counseling, if that’s okay.”

“Oh! Of course! Sorry, I just assumed you were here for the research. You usually are, after all.”

“Ha, ha, it’s okay.” Akira’s laugh was dry and forced. Not sad, just not genuine passion. “I just have a few things I want to get off my chest.”

“Absolutely.” Maruki’s smile was warm and inviting, as it usually was. “I wouldn’t be a very good counselor if I didn’t listen, after all, right?”

Akira followed his counselor into the nurse’s office and plopped himself down in the brown chair reserved for patients. Maruki, after a brief interlude where he retrieved the scattered papers and pencils that he had dropped upon being startled, sat across from him. He had a nondescript juice box in his hands and offered a bowl to Akira. “Can I interest you in anything? Snack, drink?”

“Tea, please. If there’s any.” Maruki poured a cup of tea and placed it gently in front of Akira, who picked it up, cradling it in both hands.

“So, Kurusu-kun, what’s on your mind?”

“I don’t know, maybe this isn’t the right place to talk about this. I’m just not sure where else to talk about it.”

“I assure you, I’ll do my best to help.” Maruki’s smile was honest as he adjusted his glasses, straightening them out.

“It’s a relationship issue. Or, I guess a potential relationship issue?”

“Mm. I have to warn you, Kurusu-kun, I don’t know that I’m the best to talk to about girl troubles. Or boy troubles for that matter. I won’t judge you.” 

“Thanks. I don’t have anyone else to talk to this about, though, so I guess I’ll have to settle for you.” Maruki’s eyebrow raised in shock before settling as he realized Akira was joking. “And yea, it’s a girl. The only boy…” A mess of brown hair and a smile that didn’t reach the eyes and seemed more suspicious than friendly came to his mind. “He’s cute, but it wouldn’t work. No, there’s a girl who…” Akira trailed off.

“I understand. Take your time. We’re in no rush.”

A mild expression of kindness was all it took for Akira’s walls to crumble. His next words were shaky, on the cusp of tears. “Do you ever want to help someone, but not know how to do it?”

Maruki laughed dryly. “You have no idea, Kurusu-kun. This job makes my heart hurt in a lot of ways sometimes. Is this girl you like having a problem like that?”

“I’m sure you’ve heard worse. Just family issues. Her family seems to have different goals for her than she does for herself, and I want to tell her to just follow her dreams, but…”

“But it’s not that easy.”

“Mhm. And then we had this moment on the school trip, and I felt like I could capture that moment and live in forever with her.”

Maruki nodded. He fiddled with his pen in his hand, choosing his words carefully. “I want to caution you, Kurusu-kun - it’s easy to mistake infatuation for love. One good night is not a healthy way to build a relationship. That said, I think your intentions are noble. Just be there for her, listen to her, and help when you can.”

Akira nodded. It was refreshing to be vulnerable. He certainly couldn’t show cracks in his armor as the leader of the Thieves, most of his other contacts in the city wanted something-or-other from him and weren’t interested in his problems, and Hifumi, well, that was obvious. “I just wish I could make her family understand what she really wants to be, instead of what they want her to be. I’ll do my best. Thanks for listening. ”

Maruki smiled, his eyes lighting up. “Anytime. Just try not to put everyone’s problems on your own back. It isn’t healthy. Oh, before you go, here.” Maruki tossed Akira several small bags of candy. “No point in coming here without getting snacks, right? Give one to the lucky lady, too.”

As soon as he left the nurse’s office, he texted Hifumi. “Want to play a match tonight? I haven’t seen you since Hawaii.”

The response was immediate. “Could we meet at the Skytree instead? I need a change of space, and I need to talk to you.”

* * *

The Skytree was an imposing building, and its interior reflected that. Everything seemed more high-dollar than he was used to in almost any place he visited, save for the rare occasion he would visit the Wilton Buffet with confidants. He was no stranger to being an outsider, though, and confidently pressed the elevator button for the top floor. Surrounded by people in black tie regalia, he looked out of place in his uniform, but he had business to attend to.

The top floor of the Skytree looked out over Tokyo. It was a breathtaking sight, but again, he wasn’t here to sightsee. He spotted the reason he was here very quickly - she was pretending to be taking in the view, but her posture betrayed the truth. Akira walked to her side briskly.

“Hey, I made it.” Hifumi turned, phone in her hand. No greeting, no joy, just a sharp, sad response.

“This is the weekly edition of the tabloids. Did you see it?” Akira shook his head. “They wrote an article about me. Article is too kind a word, actually, an exposé, really. Everything’s in here.” She scrolled the article on her phone. Information about my father’s failing health, why he quit playing, that my mother works in a night club… I mean, it’s all true! I just don’t understand what makes it important to write about!” Her voice was uncharacteristically cracking. “Why are people so cruel?”

Akira didn’t know how to answer. “I, uh-”

“It’s okay. I don’t expect you to have an answer.” Hifumi’s gaze passed over him back to the Tokyo skyline, her eyes brimming with tears. “I wonder sometimes if I should just quit playing shogi and get a real job. At least then my parents won’t have to suffer.”

“Is that what you really want to do?” Akira laid his hand on Hifumi’s shoulder. “I don’t think the passion I see from you every time we play is fake.”

“I mean, you’re right. I love shogi. It’s my passion. It’s just hard to see why after all the time I’ve spent in my mother’s weird version of it; and now it’s starting to feel like I can’t escape. I mean, this article came out of nowhere.” Her voice hitched again. “I have something to tell you. I have to apologize. I told you I played at the church because it’s calm and peaceful, and that’s… only half true.”

Akira smiled. “It’s okay. You can tell me whatever you need to. I won’t be mad. I know this stuff can be kind of hard to talk about to a complete stranger when you first talk to them.” Heaven knows he had plenty of secrets about his past he didn’t immediately blab out to anyone he had just met.

“Thank you, Akira. I assure you, you’re no stranger anymore.” Hifumi sighed heavily, trying to compose herself. It worked, to an extent. “The reason I play at the church is because the priest there is the only person who would practice with me. Everyone in the shogi leagues started giving me the cold shoulder when my mother started pushing me as an idol. So I either played him or played alone, until you showed up. Even if I kept going, it feels like everything is too far gone.”

Akira knew those feelings. It was the same way he felt travelling from his hometown to Tokyo after his false assault charges. He could only give the advice he had used himself. “You’ve got to keep going. Maybe things can’t get better, but you’ll never know if you don’t try.”

Hifumi looked up at him. It wasn’t much, but Akira felt a small twinge of hope in her eyes. Maybe that was just his wishful thinking. “You’re right. It’s… just tough to keep going.”

“I’ll be with you every step of the way, Hifumi. You should really talk to your mother about the stress this is putting you through.”

“I’ll try. It’s not quite so easy, but I’ll try.” Hifumi smiled at Akira. “Is it okay if I lean on you again if I need to?”

“Anytime, Hifumi. What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t let you do that?”

“Thank you, Akira. It’s still early. Would you like to play a match?”

“I suppose I can. But here,” Akira tossed her one of the packets of candy from Maruki, “you should eat something, at least. Crying can take a lot of energy out of you.”

“Oh! Why did you have this on you?”

“My therapist gave it to me.”

“Is he the one that taught you to be such a good listener?”

Akira didn’t think he had done anything quite that impressive, but he appreciated it nonetheless. “Haha, thanks. We should get going, though.”

“You had best spend the subway ride preparing yourself.” Hifumi’s spark had rekindled, and she dramatically pointed at Akira. Luckily, the top floor of the Skytree was already chaotic enough that it didn’t cause a scene. “I will unleash the Eternal Abyss Yagura Gate, and send your entire army to hell.”

Akira responded in kind, meeting dramatics with dramatics and pushing his glasses up the brim of his nose. “We’ll see about that. I’ve got my own move I’ve been developing - I call it the Kurusu Clan Showtime Attack.”

Side by side, the two returned to the church that Hifumi made her haunt. By the time the two split and went home, Akira hadn’t won, even with his new move, but he had come close. Even Hifumi was shocked at how resilient he was to her Argent Infinity Slash. But he didn’t care about winning - he cared about helping, and best he could tell, he had.


	8. ...And I'll Talk to You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Akira finds out the depth of Hifumi's mother's distorted desires, he takes action. Hifumi follows him.

Exams were kicking the teeth out of Akira. He wasn’t bad at them - au contraire, he expected to see himself comfortably in the top ten of the results. Still, the hours of time writing essays and filling in bubbles ground away at his soul. Or something like that, at least. Maybe it wasn’t that bad, but all the time he had spent with Hifumi had rubbed off some of the dramatic energy. Either way, he needed a break. He hadn’t spoken with Hifumi since exams started, but he was confident in tomorrow’s subject and needed a night that wasn’t spent with his nose in a book. He thought about stopping by the church unannounced. It’d be a fun little surprise.

“Are you sure you should be slacking off?” Akira’s bag rustled, and Morgana’s head popped out. “I don’t want you to make people suspicious of you, or get the Chief in trouble because your grades dropped.”

“Morgana,” Akira said, trying to stay hushed so he didn’t look like he had truly snapped talking to his cat, “First of all, I have studied every night this week. Second of all, I think people might be more suspicious if I suddenly placed top of the class.”

Despite the yowls from within, he zipped his bag back up. Cats didn’t understand studying for exams anyway, even if they did provide a good third of the answers for him from within the desk. Before he went that way, he stopped in Shibuya, hoping to find some trinket to bring as a gift. He still felt a little bad after getting the turtle charm in Hawaii and having nothing to give in return, and he wanted to hopefully cheer her up after all the things that seemed to be going wrong with her and her family. 

Since Akira was used to living out in the country, far from the tightly-packed city of Tokyo, Shibuya still dazzled Akira with its chaotic atmosphere and bright color palettes. Advertising seemed to cover every spare inch of the street, and overcrowded buildings were dotted with stores selling anything from necessities to overpriced baubles. The latter was what he was searching for - something slightly expensive but eye-catching and fitting to the giftee’s personality had served him well with his other friends, so surely he could find something here in this centre of commercialization.

The shops in Shibuya provided him seemingly infinite options, but he still couldn’t settle on a suitable gift. Shogi themed? The choices were slim, but there was a little bit. That said, surely she had enough of stuff themed around her sport of choice. Plus, he didn’t want to seem like he was just choosing the most obvious options. Phantom Thieves merch? The Phan-dom was at an all time high, and the two had shared that as a topic before, but again, he was concerned that his gift giving would be too one-dimensional. He wandered aimlessly down the stairs to the Underground Mall, where the commercial feeling of Shibuya amplified itself due to the enclosed space.

The stores down here were slightly higher-dollar than the ones above. The variety was just as rich, as well. Flowers? Would probably come across as the wrong message, plus despite working at Rafflesia all the flower language he had been told had slipped his mind. Rings? Definitely too much, despite some embarrassing dreams he had had.

He stopped in front of a stationary store. In the window was a proudly displayed fountain pen, embossed with a subtle metal star. It all seemed to fit too well. It was dignified and sleek - fit for a tactician. Furthermore, it bore the mark of the arcana that some astral forces he didn’t understand had assigned to her. The price tag was an eye-raisingly steep 30000¥, but a combination of negotiation tactics from an old politician and Hifumi herself meant he had a real excess of spending money after only a brief time in the Metaverse. He paid for the pen, and wrapped it up in his bag.

“Morgana, guard this for me.” Akira said with a smirk on his face, and Morgana’s glare made it clear he would pay for this someday.

* * *

One more train ride to Kanda, and his stomach was jittery. He didn’t want it to seem like it, but he was extremely nervous about this gift, given how expensive it was. The sun was beginning to set, and it cast an orange glow along the path to the church. It reminded him of the sunset that night in Hawaii…he couldn’t ruminate on that, it would only make the stakes seem higher. He opened the door to the church, but instead of the peaceful hum of organ music, his ears were assaulted by a clacking of shogi pieces that sounded almost violent as opposed to reserved and strategic.

He approached cautiously, and saw Hifumi slam another piece on her shogi board in rage. Her hand went limp, and then she started putting the pieces away even though her game was clearly only half-finished. In the middle of that, she looked up and saw Akira.

“Oh, Akira…” Her voice had a flat affect. “Did I miss a message from you? I’m sorry. I just don’t feel like playing tonight.”

Akira sat down anyway. “Hifumi, something’s clearly up. Do you want to talk about it?”

She sighed deeply. “I suppose there’s not going to be anyone better to talk to about this, huh?” She looked up into Akira’s eyes and saw the same kindness she always did, and then continued. “I tried talking to my mother about the stuff we talked about the other night at the Skytree.”

“And it didn’t go well.” That much was obvious, but Akira wanted to make sure Hifumi knew he was listening.

“I mean, bad is one way to put it. It’s not like she heard me and got angry that I wouldn’t comply. It’s like she didn’t even hear me at all. Just - blank. And then she started talking about her next plan.” She played with a shogi piece in her fingers, trying to resist the urge to just throw it to the ground. “Remember that exhibition match she set up for me with the professional? She was talking about it the day she saw you here and was so rude.”

“I remember. And I’m used to people being shitty to me, so hey, it happens.”

Hifumi nodded, a little worried that Akira was willing to take insults from others in such stride. “Well, she wants me to throw. That is, lose on purpose.”

“I don’t want to be presumptuous, Hifumi, but that doesn’t sound like something you want to do.” Akira’s voice was caring, but it suddenly had a note of deep concern hidden inside it. He had, of course, had concern for his friend’s problems before, but the escalation of bad acts, the total steamroll over anyone with a different view… he had seen this kind of thing before, and it usually didn’t end up good.

“Of course not!” Hifumi slammed her fist into the church pew, then shook her hand in pain. “Ow, sorry. I’ve got no idea what to do, though. She seems to think this will make me more popular, because I’ll be able to play the role of the downtrodden, beat up girl, and then when I win later on everyone will love my comeback story.” Her voice grew quiet. “The worst part is, I can’t even say she’s wrong. People love a good redemption arc...”

“But you were so passionate about the game, Hifumi! What happened to that? You’re going to throw away that to be an idol?” Akira asked.

“I know!” Hifumi shouted, tears welling up in her eyes. “I just don’t know what to do. I have no more moves. I’m checkmated.”

Akira closed his eyes and thought for a moment, and then emotion took over. He wouldn’t let Hifumi’s mother take over her life any longer. He blurted out, “A name.”

“What?”

“What is your mother’s full name?”

“Mitsuyo Togo, but-”

Akira stood up. “I have to go deal with something. I’ll talk to you in a little bit, Hifumi.” Suddenly, he rushed out the door.

Hifumi sat in stunned silence. She had no idea what Akira was about to do. She had to find out for herself, packing up her things quickly to try to follow him.

* * *

“Akira, this is reckless. You haven’t even talked to the other Thieves about this-” Morgana was desperately trying to be the voice of reason to an Akira who was not listening and was tapping away at his phone.

Akira held the phone up to his head. “Futaba?”

A frustrated voice came through from the other end, crackling due to the compression of the cell signal. “Akira? Is something the matter? I’m trying to watch the new Featherman episode.”

“I don’t have a lot of time. Can you find me information on a Mitsuyo Togo? Like, a phone number or something? I need to send a calling card.” Akira spoke at nearly double his normal speed. Even through a low-quality cell connection, it was clear to Futaba something wasn’t right.

“A calling card? What’s going on? We didn’t discuss this at all.”

“I know, I know.” He sounded genuinely apologetic. “But there isn’t much time. I have to save one of my friends from getting hurt.”

A slight pause over the line, and then - “Alright. I can get it for you. Just give me a few minutes.”

The call went dead, and it felt like mere moments later that his phone got the contact information, and a note from Futaba that she could anonymize the text sent. He got to work quickly. An anonymous text telling Hifumi’s mother that they were going to steal her distorted desire for fame through her daughter...and, send.

“Do you think this’ll be enough, Morgana?” Akira looked toward his bag.

“I think it will. This is still way too risky, though.”

From her hiding spot behind a nearby bus stop mere feet away, Hifumi heard distinct meowing, and Akira arguing with a cat. Well, she didn’t expect that. The next words she heard were Akira speaking “Mementos. Mitsuyo Togo.” into his phone - and then everything around her melted into crimson and black.

* * *

Akira pushed on, this floor of Mementos surprisingly clear. After just a few minutes, the black-and-red portal that indicated their target appeared before him. He and his cat stood outside it, preparing themselves to fight.

“Are you ready for this, Mona?”

“I still think this is far too reckless.” Mona sounded defeated. “But I’ll fight with you.”

The two stepped into the imposing room, and there among the subway tracks stood the shadow of the woman Akira had seen weeks ago in the church.

“Oh, are these the Phantom Thieves, here to steal _my_ heart? Why, because I properly take control of _my_ daughter’s future? It’s my right!” The shadow screamed at the few assembled Thieves.

Akira was very measured. “I will not let you trample over Hifumi’s future any longer.”

His words were stifled by a voice from behind. “Akira? What’s happening?” Hifumi’s voice came from behind him. She panted, out of breath from running through Mementos.

"Hifumi?” Akira turned and ran over to her, trying to stay between her and the shadow. “What are you doing here? How did you get here?”

“I’m not sure, I just followed you! Where are we?”

“There’s no time for an explanation, Togo-san.” Mona’s voice was clear and direct. “You need to get back. You are in mortal danger.”

Mitsuyo’s shadow turned its gaze sharply to its real self’s daughter. “Oh, so my meal ticket finally shows up. Aren’t you sick of preventing my happiness yet? Just quit fucking around with shogi and get some more photoshoots already! If you can get a thousand swooning fans, I can finally be happy!”

“Mother...what are you saying? Why are you here?” Hifumi’s voice sounded shattered.

Morgana tried to further explain, but Mitsuyo’s voice trampled over his. “You’re useless! I’m so sick of it! First your father leeches off me, and now you! You owe me so much more. I expect ten times the magazine spreads after this! Maybe then you can finally be useful for once instead of wasting your life playing that stupid game!”

Hifumi fell to the floor. “Why? I don’t understand your cruelty... but I’m not just going to accept it anymore. I need to fulfill my own destiny and my own desires, and that doesn’t include being a pretty face to earn you money.” Suddenly, the atmosphere shifted, and a voice was audible around her.

“So, you’re finally ready to betray the people who put unfair expectations on you? Very well. Then I will be your mask.”

Hifumi stood up shakily. “Come, Mitsuhide.” Her clothes changed to that of an exaggerated ancient samurai, with a portion of her face covered with a mask. The spectre of a swordsman floated above her, making dramatic slashing gestures with its sword. Hifumi seemed to gain strength from its presence, and shouted, “Akira! This voice is telling me... you must charge forward! Strike with physical attacks! Do not relent!” She was finding her attitude from shogi games very easy to slip into here as well.

Akira nodded. There was a lot to process, but that could come later. With him and Morgana, with guidance by Mitsuhide, they were able to dispatch the Shadow with only minor injury.

Before it faded, it called out. “Hifumi, I’m so sorry… I was so callous, to you, and to your father. What can I do?”

Hifumi felt the words get caught in her throat. She wasn’t quite sure what to say. “You used to be so kind and caring. Just… go back to that. I just wanted your support.” The shadow didn’t respond, melting into the abyss, and Akira pulled out the Navigator and brought the three back to the real world. They now stood in an alley near Kanda, and Hifumi nearly collapsed from exhaustion. “Akira… what happened?”

“I know this may be very confusing, but we need to get you some energy first, or you’re going to pass out. Here, I know a place nearby we can get you some food and talk it over.” Akira supported Hifumi on the way to the subway station, and called up Futaba once again.

“Akira? I got as much information as I could, and I’m _damn_ good so you’re not going to find anyone bett-”

“I need you at Leblanc. I’ve got someone with me who needs rest and energy. Can you help me out?”

“What?! You didn’t say anything about having to interact with people.”

“You don’t have to, I just need you to make sure Sojiro’s out of the place and heat up some curry.”

Futaba’s growl through the phone was audible even to Hifumi. “Alright, but you owe me for all this help.”

Akira smiled. “Alright, we’ll be there soon,” he said, as the subway took the two to Yongen-Jaya.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was really nerve-wracking to write, as its where I start to diverge from canon. There's a lot that's going to start happening now, so I hope you enjoyed it up till now and still do! Thank you!


	9. Coffee, Curry, Camaraderie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira has to explain things.

The door to Leblanc chimed its bell as Akira entered it; Hifumi almost draped over his shoulder. Futaba stood behind the counter, ducking behind it with a quiet “Eep!” when she saw Hifumi enter. She could talk to Akira and the rest of the Thieves comfortably at this point, but meeting strangers was still a clear, hard line in the sand. Akira gently guided Hifumi to one of the booths, and she slumped into it, asleep. Thankfully, it seemed Futaba had held up her end of the deal. Apart from her hiding behind the counter, the shop was closed early and Sojiro was gone. Thank God; Sojiro was much more friendly to him now than when he had first arrived at Leblanc, but he still didn’t feel like he could talk his way out of practically carrying home someone on the brink of passing out.

Once he made sure Hifumi was only exhausted and hadn’t suffered any actual injuries in the Metaverse, he went over to the coffee siphons, started up their flames and set the water to boil. He crouched down to talk to Futaba, who had taken a similar stance in her effort to avoid detection.

“I can handle it from here.” Akira whispered to Futaba.

“What happened? You sounded so worried over the phone, and then you were sending a calling card? I heard you go into Mementos, and then I lost the signal. Did she get hurt in the Metaverse?”

“First of all, I _told you_ to stop listening to my phone.” Futaba shrugged in response. “Anyway, no, she’s okay. I went in to change the heart of her mother, and the things the shadow said to her awakened her Persona. I think it’s a sort of tactician Persona, somewhat like your own.”

Futaba’s eyes lit up. “Oh, this is the shogi girl! And wow, another Persona user? You sure have some good luck in finding them. Or maybe you’re creating them somehow…”

Akira rolled his eyes. “It’s just my fabulous charm. Anyway, what did you say to Sojiro to get him to close up early?”

“I told him I wanted to learn how to cook, but that I was also too embarrassed to try with him in the store. He was so ecstatic that I was willing to try that he left almost immediately.” Futaba looked a little guilty. “So, uh, if he asks… tell him you tried my curry and it was good. I don’t want him to find out he closed up for nothing.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell him. Anyway, I’ll get her energized and Morgana and I can explain all of this to her. Tomorrow, I think the Thieves should meet up and talk with her. Between your skills and hers, I think we could have a powerful backline.”

Futaba nodded. “I’ll let the others know,” she yawned, “in the morning. I already had to stop watching Featherman twice now, so I’m gonna go finish up the episode and then sleep. So, if you don’t need me anymore-” She climbed over the side of the counter. “Futaba out!” Another ring of the bell, and she was gone into the night.

Akira stood back up. He wasn’t used to the crouching position of a seasoned Internet gremlin like Futaba, and he couldn’t hold it for much longer. Hifumi was still asleep, and Akira wanted to have everything ready for them to talk before waking her. He had to hurry, though- Mementos changes of hearts seemed to happen faster than their big targets, and she should be home to deal with that tonight. The water was boiling, so he filtered in some beans, then started searching the refrigerator for curry ingredients. Nearby, Morgana clambered out of the bag and started conversing with Akira.

“So, you think she’ll join us? Remember, not every Persona user is going to agree with our methods or goals. If what Madarame and Kaneshiro said about that black mask is true, there could be any number of others out there opposing us.”

“I think she’ll be supportive.” Akira replied. That was kind of a lie. He _hoped_ she’d be supportive. She had talked about liking the Phantom Thieves’ ideals in the past. But actually putting your life on the line for a cause was critically different from mere support from the sidelines.

He pulled out some curry ingredients and started tending to the pot. A little bit of chicken thigh added to the roux, spice, stir. The grand questions about whether she’d join the Thieves took a backseat to more mundane questions about cooking. Akira had some experience making Sojiro’s curry recipe, but there were still little tweaks that depended on the person. Would she prefer it more spicy or more sweet? He decided to cover his bases, adding a bit of cinnamon alongside a bit of cayenne.

The pot responded with a pleasant sizzle, and he continued to stir. In the meantime, he took the coffee off the siphons and poured two cups. It smelled great. Someday in the future he had to thank Sojiro for teaching him these culinary tips. After that, all he had to do was plate two plates of curry, store the rest of both the curry and the coffee for later usage in the Metaverse, and then deliver it to the booth.

He placed one of the plates of curry in front of Hifumi, alongside a cup, and gently nudged her shoulder. “Hey, sleepyhead. Wake up.”

Hifumi’s eyes opened. “Hm? Akira…? Where are we?”

Akira gestured around him with both hands. “This is where I live.”

Hifumi was puzzled. Another strange thing to add onto today’s list of strange things. “I remember you said you worked at a cafe, but you live here?”

Akira took a sip of his coffee and nodded. “Upstairs. My guardian runs this place. He’s away right now, though.” Silence then hung heavy in the air, until Akira continued. “You should eat. You need to restore your energy after all that.”

Hifumi smiled. “I never thought my shogi partner would end up being a Phantom Thief.” She took a sip of her coffee. “You made this? It’s delicious.”

Akira took the compliment as an opportunity to deflect a little bit from the seriousness of the situation. “Thank you. I have many talents.” He pushed his glasses up his face. “And, uh, yeah. You got me.”

“So, all that…”

“That was a change of heart. We, essentially, went inside your mother’s cognition and changed her distorted desires. I’m sorry I wasn’t more clear about that, but when I heard how she was just ignoring you… I saw red.” His eyes fell, and one of his hands clenched into a fist. “So many of my friends, and even the people I just met one time - people with horrible desires have hurt them so much. I couldn’t bear to see it happening to you too.”

“I appreciate it. I’m sorry for following you.”

“No, it makes sense. I was acting erratically. Now, onto the other major topic.”

“I think I heard you say something on the phone about something called a Persona?”

Akira chuckled. “You see so much more than you let on.”

“It’s part of being a proper tactician. Your soldiers will fall if you don’t keep abreast of everything on the battlefield, especially when others think you won’t notice.”

_She truly was intense in everything she did_ , Akira thought to himself. “I’ll get right to it then. A Persona is a mask we - the Phantom Thieves, that is - use to defeat people’s distorted desires. It represents your will to rebel against society and its cruelties. Not everyone has one, but when you were in there with me, you awakened to yours.”

“I see. This is a lot to take in at once.” She looked worried.

“I know. It’s confusing for everyone, and it takes a lot out of you. But I would like you to consider joining us. Your Persona seems to have tactical abilities, and I think it could be very helpful. But I know this is complicated. I don’t know when the change of heart will happen for your mother. Mementos targets seem to have it happen faster than the big targets. Do you think you could come meet us here, tomorrow?”

She nodded. “I trust you, Akira. You’ve always had my back. I’ll think about it.”

“You should get home. The last trains are gonna stop sooner rather than later.”

“I will. Thank you for the curry. It was delicious.” She smiled, and left, and Akira cleaned up the kitchen while hoping against hope that Hifumi would say yes. They had talked so much about justice together. She had to.

When Hifumi returned home, her mother apologized tearfully. She’d heard about the changes of heart in public figures, but she hadn’t expected it to be this intense. Her mother begged her to forgive her for the pressure she put on her, and they embraced. The next words were something she hadn’t expected, and shattered her heart.

“And of course, Hifumi, I’ll stop fixing your matches for you.”

“ _...Stop_?”

* * *

Were it not for the aches in her body, Hifumi could almost believe that all of yesterday was some sort of confusing dream. Instead, she laid in her bed, praying her muscles would somehow miraculously cure themselves. Shogi players required very little physical training, after all.

She rolled over in bed and checked her phone. Her email was lit up. This was the second confirmation that what happened to her yesterday was not, in fact, a dream. This had upsides and downsides. On the positive side, her mother genuinely seemed remorseful and would no longer stand in her way. On the negative side, she had inadvertently revealed that much of Hifumi’s success up to this point had been fraudulent. Hifumi had known her mother to have had a deep desire for fame, but she didn’t expect it to go this far, to lie to even her own daughter.

She read through the emails she’d received. “ _Request for comment: Shogi Idol or Phony Princess?_ ” “ _RE: Shogi superstar found out to be scumbag scammer?!_ ” She turned her phone off. She didn’t have the energy to deal with this. This would likely strike a fatal blow to her shogi career, at least in the public eye. She still had the exhibition match to deal with, and many eyes would be on her.  
Her mother’s heart had changed, but she still had to deal with the consequences of her actions. It would have been worse, though, were it left to fester. She had to hear Akira out. She opened her phone again and texted Akira. “I’ll meet up with you and at least hear you out. I won’t let this kind of thing keep going on.”

The text back was quick. “Great. Meet at Leblanc tonight? I’ll introduce you to the crew.” She set an alarm and rolled back over into bed. Thank God it was a Sunday.


	10. Answering Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hifumi has to answer two questions Akira asks her. One is tough, and one is very, very easy.

Normally, Sojiro would be ecstatic that Leblanc was buzzing this much on a Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately, Akira and his friends didn’t pay. He didn’t mind that much, he was mostly just glad Akira seemed to be staying out of trouble and had a little posse to call his own. Somehow, that posse now included his adoptive daughter, but maybe a group of similarly-aged friends was what she needed this whole time.

Therefore, tonight, as with many nights, the cafe’s lobby was packed with a group of rowdy teenagers, feasting on charity curry and coffee. Ryuji sipped on a soda at the counter, while Ann and Makoto discussed their English lessons and Futaba and Yusuke argued over some esoteric dispute about the aesthetic of anime. Akira helped serve the coffee, his movements jerky and his face visibly nervous.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Sojiro spoke softly to his ward and part-time assistant. “You look kinda out of it. All your friends are over, there’s no need to slave over the coffee siphons. Go have fun.”

Akira looked up to him. “I’m just nervous.” He chose his words carefully, trying to thread the needle of expressing his nerves without revealing why this was so nerve-wracking in the first place. “I’m going to… introduce a new friend to the group tonight.”

Sojiro raised his eyebrows. “I’m sure your little motley crew will maintain itself just fine. I certainly wouldn’t have expected the student council president to be hanging out with a ‘delinquent’ like you anyway.” The word “delinquent” left his mouth with a tongue-in-cheek levity than it would have mere months earlier. Now, it seemed almost impossible to envision the nervous, studious boy before him as a criminal. “I’m sure it’ll work out. Go on, I’ll clean up the kitchen.” He patted Akira on the back, and Akira relented, leaving his guard post at the coffee siphon to mingle with his friends as best he could.

“Yo, Akira!” Ryuji’s booming voice would be sufficient enough to hear him from across Shujin, let alone the tiny cafe space of Leblanc. “What’s goin’ on with this emergency meeting?”

“It’s not an emergency, nothing’s wrong. It’s good, actually. It’s just important.” Akira replied, then turned his gaze over to Futaba, whose discussion with Yusuke seemed to be getting heated. “Futaba, did you tell them it was an emergency?”

“It sounds cooler if it’s an emergency! Nobody wants to show up for a boring meeting. It’s way cooler if there’s some kind of threat we have to take on!” Futaba declared triumphantly.

“Well, there’s no threat. Just a friend I wanted to introduce the rest of you to.” He stressed his next words to try to indicate the importance as subtly as he could in front of Sojiro. “We can talk about it later, _upstairs_.” Unfortunately, “as subtly as he could” was rarely particularly subtle, but Sojiro was paying little attention and the others were willing to jump in to cover the conversation.

“So, Yusuke, are you working on any interesting works you can tell us about right now?” Makoto asked with a start that similarly failed to sound natural, but at least had conspicuous cover.

“I assure you, Futaba, the Featherman series does not have the same cultural cachet as- Hm? Oh, Makoto.” Yusuke effortlessly switched tack from his bickering with Futaba, turning to the rest of the group, beaming. “Indeed. Akira has been helping me express myself anew. He is quite interesting to bounce ideas off. He has an eye for the kinds of beauty that do not often get recognition.”

“Hey, I’m just glad to help. Though I think you should be glad that priest was a man of the cloth, or you might not have made it out of the church after doing those poses.” Thank God Hifumi hadn’t been there that day. Or had she, and he merely hadn’t noticed? She’d surely understand the creative power a little dramatic flair could add. “Let’s go upstairs. We can talk more up there, guys. We don’t want to keep any customers out.”

* * *

“Alright, let’s talk.” Akira pulled out his table and took a seat at one side, the rest of the Thieves gathering around him with Morgana sitting in the center of the table. “Keep your voices down. This is official Phantom Thieves business.”

“Hey, no need to be so serious, man. We’re here for ya’. What’s up?” Ryuji leaned back in his chair.  
Akira was direct. “I found another Persona user.”

Ann was the first to react. “What? That’s super cool! When did you find this out?”

Akira should have been excited to explain. He should’ve been able to wax poetic. But still, he broke their rule. He had to tread carefully and hope the others understood. “I went into Mementos the other night with Morgana. We had to change somebody’s heart, and-”

Makoto’s voice coldly broke through Akira’s pleas. “You did what? I thought we were supposed to decide our targets _unanimously_.” Her glare could pierce a soul.

Akira’s face fell. “I know, I know. I’m sorry. I was just talking to a friend who kept telling me about her problems and how her mother was abusing her, okay?” His voice was frantic.

“Dude, it’s okay.” Ryuji put a hand on Akira’s shoulder. “I understand the passion. Just don’t do it again, please. For your safety, especially.”

“Yeah!” Morgana shouted. “Listen to me when I tell you you’re doing something reckless!”

“Right. I’m sorry.” Akira continued. “Anyway, my friend followed me in, and then during the fight with her mother’s shadow, she awakened to her Persona. It seemed to have similar support-type abilities to Futaba’s Persona. I asked her to come meet with us here, if that’s alright with you all.”

* * *

Downstairs, the bell to Leblanc’s door rang, and the quiet shogi queen walked through it. She looked around the cafe area, seemingly out of place.

Sojiro spoke up, breaking the awkward silence. “What can I get you?” His automatic response faltered when he realized he recognized her. “Wait, are you that shogi girl from the magazines a while back?”

Her response was quiet. “Yes. I’d rather not talk about it, if that’s okay.”

“No, it’s okay. I understand. I assume you’re here looking for Akira, right? I hope he hasn’t gotten you into any trouble, I told him to behave.”

Hifumi giggled. “He’s been very helpful to me. He’s quite an interesting person, you know?”

“Glad to see I’m not the only one he’s had that effect on. He’s upstairs, with the rest of his little gang.”

Hifumi climbed the stairs, hearing the hushed tones of Akira mixed in with voices she mostly didn’t recognize, save one. “Akira? I’m here.”

As soon as she came into view, Yusuke’s eyes went wide. “Hifumi?”

“Yusuke? I didn’t expect to meet you here. Though…” Hifumi thought a little deeper. “I guess that makes sense. You were really involved in the Madarame scandal, after all.”

“I’m just as shocked to see you here. What a coincidence. I told Akira about you because he seemed like he would appreciate a discussion on tactics. How fortuitous that a simple off-handed comment could lead us to another ally!”

Akira’s voice sounded more concerned than celebratory. “You are going to join us, right? I just think you’d be very useful, between yourself and Futaba, we would be unstoppable.”

“I had to think about it for a while. Everything about my life in shogi is really damaged due to the things my mother did. I know that changing someone’s heart can’t immediately undo all the harmful things they did, but it’s still better than living under their thumb.” She smiled, looking right into Akira’s eyes. “I’ll join you.”

“Yay!” Ann cheered.

Hifumi bowed. “I’m Hifumi Togo. Former, and hopefully someday again, professional shogi player. I’m glad to meet you all.”

“Sorry we didn’t have things set up for an initiation party. Akira kind of sprung this on us very suddenly.” Makoto apologized.

“We can set somethin’ up once we have our next target! Futaba, how’s that goin’?” Ryuji was excited both for the prospect of another target and another party. The Phantom Thieves tended to go fairly all-out for their parties, after all.

“Still workin’ on it. I’ll let you guys know on the text chain.” Futaba said, as she worked on her laptop. “Oh, Akira, send me Hifumi’s number, I’ll add her to the group.”

“Ooh! Can we have sushi for the party?” Morgana’s mind had clearly become overtaken by gluttony.

“Wait. Did your cat just talk, Akira?” Hifumi’s mouth was agape.

“Oh, right. He could always talk, but now that you’ve seen the Metaverse, your mind understands it.”

Hifumi’s eyes were still wide. “Were it not for the things I’ve seen the last few days with you, I wouldn’t believe it.”

“Nobody does, at first.” Makoto smiled, looking at her phone. “Ah, Hifumi, it looks like everything’s taken care of with the text chain.”

“You’re welcome!” Futaba smugly declared.

“Well, I do apologize for leaving so early, but it is late, and I need to study. We can discuss more when we have a viable target.” Makoto packed her things and prepared to leave.

“Wait, shit! It’s _how_ late?” Ryuji looked at his phone. “Uh, I gotta go too, guys.”

“Well, let’s all disperse for now, and we can talk more later. Sorry, Hifumi.” Ann said.

“Don’t worry, I understand.” Hifumi smiled to the group, then in a whisper, “Akira, can I stay around a little longer? I need to talk to you.”

* * *

The chaos of a Phantom Thieves meeting was evident despite its short length, but Akira did his best to clean up what he could easily. Now, he sat next to Hifumi not in the pews of a church, but on the sofa that sat looking slightly disheveled in his room.

“Your room is a lot more spartan than I expected, Akira.” She wasn’t sure why, but his general caring but dorky demeanor seemed ill-suited to such meager accommodation. That said, her eyes couldn’t help but notice the calling card she gave to him given prominent positioning on the shelf.

“Hey, it works. Sojiro gave me what he could. I appreciate that.” Akira replied.

“Oh, I mean, of course.” Hifumi idly picked up one of the cartridges on the table next to the sofa. “Train of Life, hm? This was actually one of the first games I played.”

“Oh, really? It’s not particularly strategic. It’s mostly about luck.”

“I know! It made me mad! That’s why I wanted to learn shogi, and then my dad started to teach me.” Hifumi was desperately trying to avoid a critical topic, it was obvious.

“Hifumi. You sounded so serious earlier, what’s going on?” Akira’s voice struck the same caring tone she’d heard from him so many times now.

“Oh.” She couldn’t run from this anymore. “Well, I wanted to talk to you about our deal. Not with the Thieves, the other one. I’m sure you’ve heard the news by this point?”

“Yeah.” Akira’s voice was dry. “I try to avoid it. They’re being really rude to you. It hurts to hear.”

“I can’t deny parts of what they’re saying, though. My mother unfairly pushed me to higher levels than I should have experienced. I need to take a step back.”

“You’re going to quit shogi? After all this?”

“Of course not. Shogi is deeply important to me. That said, I’m going to retire from the professional leagues for now, and take a break from public games after the exhibition match my mother set up takes place. At least now I know it won’t be fixed.” She smiled, but that smile had pain beneath it. “That said, I don’t know that I can still teach you. I’m sorry.”

“Huh?” Akira’s face suddenly looked shattered. “Why? I don’t want that. I want to stay by your side.” His voice quieted down. “If you’ll have me, of course.”

Hifumi sounded shocked. “What? I’m totally disgraced, and you still want to spend time with me?”

Akira knew that it was now or never for expressing his feelings. He summoned all the courage he had within him. “It’s more than that.” Akira’s voice was a shaky whisper at this point. “I.. I think I love you, Hifumi. I want to be your boyfriend.”

Suddenly, Hifumi’s nerves were fully stressed. Her face went red. Everything was moving so fast. Thank God her mother no longer cared about this sort of thing after her change of heart. She put her hand on Akira’s, which was resting on his leg. “You mean it?”

“If you’re okay with it.”

“Then I accept. I will become a woman worthy of you.”

“You already are.” Akira’s face went red as well, but he was finally able to look up. “Can I?”

Hifumi nodded, and Akira leaned in for a kiss. It was awkward, the two colliding for just a mere moment. Despite their inexperience, they both wished this moment could last forever.

“I love you, Akira.” Hifumi whispered, her hand around Akira’s back, and her face pressed into his shoulder.

Akira ran his fingers through Hifumi’s hair, stopping for a moment to fidget with the omamori knot in her hair. “I only wish I had the courage to ask you this when we were on that beach in Hawaii.”

Hifumi giggled. “It’s okay. We have plenty of time to make other nice memories.”

Akira hummed in agreement. “You should probably start heading home… it’s late. The trains are going to stop running soon.” His eyes lit up. “Oh! I meant to give to you the other night, when everything went down. I guess now is as good a time as any.” He grabbed his bag and rifled through it, finding the fountain pen he’d purchased, and holding it out for her.

Hifumi took it and held it between her fingers. “Oh, Akira. This is so thoughtful. I really like it. It’s so elegant.”

Akira’s nerves calmed slightly at hearing that, but he was still a little frazzled. Nonetheless, he smiled. “I’m glad you like it. Think of me when you use it, okay?” He grinned. “Still, though. The trains.”

“You’re right. Can you walk me to the station, then?”

Hand in hand, the two walked to the station, with Akira boldly stealing one more kiss on the cheek as Hifumi set off back to her home. Her face wouldn’t lose its crimson hue until halfway through the train ride.

Akira had an extra spring in his step when he returned to Leblanc. The man at the counter had a smirk on his face.

“Oh, Sojiro.” Akira tried to pass it off. “Why are you here so late?”

“I just wanted to make sure your friends got home okay. Don’t think I didn’t see you and the shogi player holding hands. Don’t worry, I’m not going to cause any problems. Just keep things… sensible while the shop’s open, alright?” Sojiro was putting a lot of thought into each word. “And don’t break her heart.”

“Of course.” Akira assumed his “good boy” act. He didn’t expect Sojiro to be against it, but he was glad at such a calm response, especially since he had inadvertently revealed his new relationship without knowing. He needed to keep that in mind. Love was one thing, but he couldn’t let slips of the mind happen like that when it came to thievery.

“Alright, I’m gonna close up. Don’t stay up too late.” Sojiro left Leblanc, flicking the sign from “open” to “closed” and walking into the night.

Akira climbed up to his room and lay in bed, tossing and turning, not reaching sleep until much later than usual on account of his heart still pumping a mile a minute.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a super fun chapter to write! Now we get into the really good stuff! Hope you're enjoying!


	11. Battle Decisively

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hifumi has unfinished business before she can truly start being a Phantom Thief.

When Akira awoke, his phone was abuzz. It seemed Futaba’s efforts had borne fruit, and the Thieves’ group chat was filled with messages discussing it. “Kunikazu Okumura, the Okumura Foods building, and spaceport are the codes we’re looking for” had reached their group at about 4 a.m. from their night owl hacker, and excitement and trepidation both flooded in. That wasn’t the only message Akira was interested in, though. He’d also received a message from Hifumi, confirming that his bold request to ask her out had truly been successful and hadn’t been something he’d dreamt.

“Good morning. I hope you have slept well. I am pleased to be your...courtier? Um...I wish I could use my defensive strategies in reality too, this is so nerve wracking!”

Akira was a diligent Phantom Thief, but he still had a feeling that he should respond to his new girlfriend first. He tapped the notification and tapped out a reply quickly. “Good morning! No need to be so nervous, I’m always glad to hear from you, sweetheart. Summon the passion from our matches against each other!” He sent it off with an attached heart emoji, then scrolled up to read the discussions about their supposed new target.

“‘The CEO of Okumura Foods, Kunikazu Okumura enjoys a positive reputation in public, but underground sources and leaks that I’ve uncovered claim there’s widespread abuse in the corporate structure.’ One of my sources leaked that for me.” One of Futaba’s follow-up messages read. “This company is the parent company of Big Bang Burger! That’s a super damning accusation! It also seems like this has connections to the mental shutdowns- a bunch of the shutdowns led to good opportunities for their restaurants!”

Akira’s phone buzzed, but he put that off to keep scrolling. Ryuji was the first to respond. “Whoa! That’s huge! Big Bang Burger is everywhere nowadays. They even had franchises in Hawaii when we went. If we take him down, everybody will have to believe in the Phantom Thieves!”

Makoto’s message was next. “We need to be careful, guys. Not only is this a high value target, we also have two members now for whom this will be their first mission. We have to be very cautious.”

Then Ann. “Does everyone’s schedule line up for a meeting tomorrow about this tomorrow? I’ve got a modeling shoot tonight, but tomorrow should work.”

The rest of the Thieves agreed quickly after that. “I have an important shogi match tonight, but tomorrow should work. I apologize for letting my personal matters get in the way of this, but it was scheduled beforehand, and I need to participate to settle some of my own unresolved issues.” Hifumi replied.

“No worries. We’ll meet up tomorrow, then. Somebody make sure Akira knows once he’s up.” Ryuji replied.

The conversation continued with some mild small talk between the Thieves after that. They had been active this morning. A shame he’d missed out on it. His phone kept buzzing, so in frustration, he scrolled to the bottom of the group chat, and his face went hot immediately.

“ _Sweetheart? Passion? Matches together?_ ” The other Thieves had replied to his message with gentle teasing. Whoops. Looks like that was not in the correct chatroom.

“Oh, sorry guys. I meant to send that to someone privately.”

“So _now_ we know why she stayed so late at Leblanc.” Makoto replied.

Ah, shoot. Well, the secret was out. That didn’t take long. He realized he should properly respond to Hifumi now. “Sorry for that. I didn’t mean to send that to everyone, I promise.”

Her response was swift. “Don’t worry. I shouldn’t be embarrassed. You’re right. I need to face life with the kind of passion I have for battle, so I will. I won’t be afraid!”

Akira smiled at his phone. “Well, I’m glad. I love you. I can’t promise the rest of them won’t tease us, though. Luckily, they’re probably going to focus more on me.”

“I love you too.” Hifumi replied. “Do you think you can come to my match tonight? You won’t be able to come in, but you can watch online from the lobby. Your support would mean a lot to me. Plus, we can have dinner afterwards. My treat.”

“I’d be delighted to. Meet you there after school?” Akira sent off his confirmation, and prepared for his day with a lot more energy than usual.

* * *

The exhibition shogi match was taking place at some kind of fancy hotel lobby that was reformatted into a convention center. The general glitz and glamour was surprising- he hadn’t realized how big a deal the shogi world was until now. This was a mere exhibition match, albeit with a professional player versus a former young upstart now embroiled in scandal, but this was still slightly intimidating.

The room where the match was held was off limits to the public, but he found a place in the glitzy lobby where he could sit and watch the match on his phone. A few journalists sat nearby, idly conversing about the shogi beat, and a mild, inoffensive instrumental song played from the overhead at just enough volume to be audible but not enough to focus on.

Akira pulled up the web page where the match would be streamed on his phone. Still nothing, as it hadn’t started yet. When he looked back up, the seat next to him was taken by the soon-to-be competitor who had recently become his girlfriend. Hifumi had eschewed her uniform for an arrow patterned orange, blue, and white dress. The distinctive knot in her hair was still present, forming a mix of the familiar and the new for her outfit. Akira was stunned.

“Surprise.” Hifumi said with a smile. “I thought I’d come out and see you before the match began. Thank you so much for being here.”

“You look beautiful.” Akira drank in her more casual but still elegant look. _She was so pretty, he couldn’t handle it._ “Are you nervous about the match?”

Hifumi shook her head, her long hair flying back and forth. “You were right earlier. I need to show my passion. I need to fight with the soul of the warrior I’ve cultivated with shogi. So I’m not scared anymore.” She put an arm around Akira’s shoulders and pulled him in for a quick kiss. “For good luck.”

Akira was dazed for a second with joy at this, then recovered. “Alright. Knock ‘em dead, sweetheart.” He replied with a little summoned false machismo. A moment later, she was gone, returning to the battlefield on which she’d participate in a climactic match. Akira was excited to watch play of this calibre- at the very least, he’d get to see what his girlfriend was like when she wasn’t steamrolling a complete amateur like himself.

* * *

Mere minutes later, the game began to unfold on the tiny screen before Akira. He recognized Hifumi’s opening - an aggressive early game assault designed to break the walls of her enemy’s castle before they were prepared for such an attack. He had fallen to this move many times in their own games. Her opponent’s castle did not crumble, however. Instead, the professional shogi player repelled her attack swiftly, leaving Hifumi in a poor field position.

With her advancing force defeated, her homeland was vulnerable to the aggression of her enemy’s warriors. The strike back was brutal, though Hifumi was able to snag a surprise attack on one of the advancing warriors, giving her a potential way back into the game she was being forced out of.

“Oh, that’s quite a good move.” One of the journalists at the nearby table said. “Perhaps she really does have the skills that some claimed about her.”

Unfortunately, Akira knew what a losing game of shogi looked like at this point, and despite the earlier flash of brilliance she’d shown, this was clearly a game she was not destined to win. Her soldiers fell one by one, and it became clear to her what the inevitable outcome would be.

“I concede.” Her words came clear as day through Akira’s phone, and the stream went dark.

“Well, that was about what I expected.” The journalists at the nearby table continued their conversation.

“A few interesting moves, certainly a lot of potential. But you saw how it ended up. How does ‘ _The Phony Princess’ Empire Crumbles_ ’ sound?” The other journalist replied. The other nodded, and the two packed up their laptops and left.

Only moments after they stepped out of view, Hifumi returned to Akira. She walked with dignity despite her loss, though the sting of defeat was evident on her face.

“Well. That was that.” She spoke matter-of-factly. Her voice sounded more relieved than sadness, though it was hard not to detect a touch of bitterness in her voice. “I thought I started strong, but then it all fell apart, so I threw in the towel.” She sighed. “I’ve never forfeited a match before.”

“You did well. You didn’t give up until it was clear, and then you did immediately.” Akira smiled. “Very queenly.”

Hifumi giggled. “You remembered. That was one of the first things I taught you. I’m glad to see you’ve stuck to your fundamentals.”

Akira looked up to her. “I hope you continue to teach me well.” His tone of voice was almost embarrassingly innocent.

“I’m glad you want me to. I know you said you wanted to stay by my side, but I worried after that performance you would think twice.”

“Nope.” Akira grinned. “You’re stuck with me. Well, as long as you’ll have me.”

“I don’t see why I wouldn’t have you.” Hifumi stole a kiss. “Plus, now that I’m taking a step back from professional shogi, I have plenty of time for other activities.” A brief pause, and she realized how that sounded. “Oh, um! Not like that!” She was stammering. “I just mean, for our group, and also to teach you more in-depth strategies. Don’t think I’ll go easy on you now just because we’re dating.”

“I look forward to it. Want to go get something to eat? Who knows what’ll end up going down tomorrow, you’ll need your strength.”

The two left the shogi battlefield, hand in hand. On the way back, the two stopped to purchase some crepes in Shibuya. Tomorrow, they would tear off their masks in the Metaverse and become Phantom Thieves. Just moments earlier, Hifumi had been Queen Togo; reigning over an empire destined to crumble due to those who had put unfair expectations on her shoulders. Right now, however, they could simply be together; feasting on dessert crepes and holding hands as they walked together through the streets of Shibuya.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you're enjoying. Now we can get into some real thievery.
> 
> In personal news, my love for Hifumi has made me start to learn shogi, lmao.


	12. Irreplacable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Interpersonal conflict makes Akira vulnerable as the next heist approaches.

The next day, the hot afternoon sun burned over Yongen-Jaya. Light streamed through the window to Akira’s (and by extension, the Thieves’) attic hideout. The air was undeniably filled with excitement. Ann, Akira, Ryuji, Yusuke, and Makoto sat at the small table Akira had once again pulled out to provide a modicum of meeting space. Futaba had stolen Akira’s bed, and typed away on her laptop as she made final preparations for her presentation of the next target’s data. Hifumi stood behind Akira, still somewhat unsure how to break into the larger group. Instead, she stayed in her comfort zone, which relied on Akira now more than ever. Morgana, instead of taking up the role as self-appointed commander as he was wont to do, instead paced in one corner of the room incessantly.

As was typical, the group found itself mired in idle chatter as they anxiously awaited the roundtable on their potential heist. Today, Ann and Makoto were poking at Akira’s mistaken text from the day earlier.

“So, Akira,” Makoto’s face bore a mischievous smile that had only become common once she joined the Thieves. “You never told us who your _sweetheart_ was.” Of course, despite his attempts at being mysterious, Akira was not a particularly subtle person when it came to his interpersonal relationships, and love was no exception. His message left little room for ambiguity as well, with few others they knew having “matches” in their loves and even fewer Thieves staying with him in his room past the conclusions of their meetings. Makoto knew exactly who he had meant, and Akira knew that she knew. Still, she took the opportunity to tease their usually stoic leader.

“Yeah, Akira!” Ann followed up. “Who’s the lucky lady?” She grinned, looking knowingly into Akira’s eyes.

Akira had always felt uncomfortable talking about his feelings, so he tried to retain his normal cool demeanor by hiding his eyes behind his glasses, letting the light reflect off of the lenses. This didn’t have the intended effect - his embarrassment was obvious to anyone who looked. He stammered out an excuse. “Guys, you’re gonna make Hifumi embarrassed!” That attempt to disperse attention was so obvious it earned giggles not just from the two girls who were teasing, but also from Hifumi behind him.

“I don’t think it’s her who is embarrassed…” Ann said. “I’m only kidding. I’m happy for you two! I’m glad you found somebody, Akira. You always seemed sorta out on your own, always able to help people but never really asking for much yourself. It’s good that you have somebody really close to rely on now.”

“I agree.” Makoto added in. “Though I want it to be clear, I called this as early as the Hawaii trip. I just want that to be on the record.”

Yusuke butted into the conversation after seemingly having spent a long time lost in thought. “Now that you two are dating, do you think you could spare an afternoon to let me paint you? I have been looking for something to express desire in my art to the utmost and-” His hands seemed to gain a mind of their own, waving frantically as he put a dramatic flourish into his request. “-what better expression of that than the fires of a new love?”

Akira didn’t bother answering, instead looking up to Hifumi. “I have to ask, was he always like this?”

She shrugged. “I’ve only barely known him since I started at Kosei, but as long as I have, yes.”

Yusuke either didn’t hear or didn’t mind the characterization, and the conversation began to fade as Futaba stood up, a fire in her eyes.

“Alright! I’ve got everything ready. Let’s get the dirt out about Okumura.” Futaba said, excitedly.

“Yo, Mona!” Ryuji shouted to the corner of the room. “You comin’?”

“Why bother?” Morgana sounded sullen, with a hint of bitterness.

“What? Come on, we’re gonna talk about the next target!” Ryuji replied.

“Nobody ever asks me anymore. Akira just goes on ahead with his own ideas, so why even bother talking?” Morgana screamed back. “If you guys don’t even want my feedback and won’t listen to me, I’m going on my own.” Morgana headed for the stairs. “I’m sorry, looks like I’ll solve the mental shutdown mystery alone.” Within moments, he was gone.

The atmosphere of excitement in the hideout had cratered, and Akira’s stomach sank. Morgana had been quiet recently, and Akira had been busy, but he didn’t realize that his one incursion into Mementos alone along with their passion for taking down Okumura had left their erstwhile planner so lonely and neglected.

Makoto was the first to speak up. “Should we… go after him?”

Akira shook his head. “He’s a cat. He’s too fast, and he can hide. We won’t be able to catch up to him. We’ll have to see if we can find him at the Palace, since it seems like he’ll be going there.”

Akira tried to stay calm, but his mind was collapsing. It’s my fault were the words echoing in his head. _I got upset with Hifumi’s mother and went straight into Mementos without everyone else. It’s my fault. We got excited Okumura was at the top of the Phan-Site rankings and I pushed ahead with him being our next target. It’s my fault._ “Can you guys go downstairs for a bit and keep planning? We need to head out there tonight, and see if we can find Morgana and talk sense into him, but I just need a little bit of time to clear my head.” His speaking was stilted, his voice attempting to cover up another horrible internal feeling for the good of the Phantom Thieves.

Quietly, unsure of how to respond, the rest of the group went downstairs, leaving Akira to stare into the middle distance. _It’s my fault. It’s my fault. It’s my fault._

* * *

The Thieves, sans their leader and their guide to the Metaverse both, sat in a malaise on the lower floor of Leblanc. Akira had stayed behind, his stoic visage at risk of cracking under the pressure of the rift that had flared in their group. The rest of the group was silent. Akira had spent lots of time consoling them and helping them with their problems. Now, it seemed they should repay him, but they weren’t sure the best way to go about it.

“So, uh, Futaba…” Ryuji broke the silence. “Still looking up info on Okumura?” It was an attempt to spur conversation, but it was clearly half-hearted at best.

“I guess.” Her response was similarly disheartened. “Should we go up and talk to him? I don’t know if I’ll be any help.”

Ann jumped in, directly getting to the point. “Hifumi, can you do it?”

Hifumi shook her head. “I don’t know how to help him. I’ve only just met Morgana…”

“I know that, but you’re dating Akira now. You mean a lot to him.” Ann replied.

Makoto backed her up. “Hifumi, you missed a lot of the way Akira was acting before you two were together. You mean a great deal to him.” She gestured to Ryuji, Ann, and Yusuke. “Remember when he ran away out of nowhere so he could get peace and quiet as soon as he found out she was in Hawaii?”

“Indeed.” Yusuke nodded. “It was quite a strange moment. I cannot deny that he has a strong amount of passion for you, Hifumi.”

“Alright. I’ll give it a shot.” Hifumi climbed the stairs back up to where Akira was sitting, his head in his hands. She was nervous, but she had to try.

Hifumi came up behind Akira and gently put her hands on his shoulders. “Akira? Do you want to talk?”

Akira mumbled out a reply. “It’s alright. Sorry you got dragged into all this.”

Hifumi came around to his front and planted a kiss on his forehead. “It’s okay. You’ve helped me so much. I’m not gonna let you suffer.”

Akira nodded in appreciation, then began to speak. He was on the verge of tears. “Was I wrong to change your mother’s heart?”

“Akira, if you hadn’t changed her heart, I would still be stuck in a loop of being lied to about my own skill. I’d be living in a false success that was set up to make me something I don’t want to be.” She smiled. “Come on, let’s go to the couch. I don’t want to have to stand behind you.” She held out a hand and pulled Akira up, guiding him over to the sofa up against the wall. With the two now seated, she took the opportunity to wrap her arms around him.

“I overran Morgana’s opinion. I didn’t listen to him at all when he told me it was reckless. Sure, it worked out fine, but wasn’t he right? We could’ve died. _You_ could’ve died, Hifumi.”

“You should probably apologize to him. I’ve only just met him recently, so I’m not sure about his personality. But from what he said, it sounded like he just doesn’t realize that he’s cared for. We should go find him, and you should let him know you care about him.” She stole another kiss, this time on the lips. “You help everyone in your life, but you don’t have to be silent when things hurt for you. We’re here to help. I’m here to help.”

Akira’s mood seemed to lighten a bit, and he took a kiss back, a little longer, a little more intense. “You’re too nice to me, my beautiful star.”

Hifumi’s calm demeanor was suddenly rattled. “W-where did you learn to be so suave?”

“I took a lot of baths.” Akira replied. It wasn’t entirely clear whether he was serious or joking, but he kept talking without missing a beat. “Do you think we could stay here a bit longer? You’re so cute.”

Hifumi freed her boyfriend from her grip. “I would really enjoy that, but I don’t want our first real time to ourselves to be spoiled by all our friends walking in on us kissing.”

“You’re probably right. Let’s go, we have a cat to bring home.”

* * *

The Thieves now stood outside the Okumura Foods headquarters. Security was tight, so they grouped up at a safe distance. They weren’t sure how well-paid security guards would react to a strange group of teenagers skulking about outside a billion-yen corporation’s headquarters, but they suspected it wouldn’t be pleasant.

“Alright, there’s still a few things we need to cover before we go in. I know this is a critical mission, but we gotta get this squared away.” Akira had regained his passion for leadership, and spoke with purpose. “First, we need code names for our two new members, since this is their first mission. What do we think about Futaba’s?”

“Extraterrestrial?” Yusuke proposed.

“Absolutely not.” Futaba replied.

“Oracle?” Akira suggested.

“Oooh! I like that! Since she’s in charge of navigation and all that.” Ann said.

Futaba agreed. “I like it!” She pumped her first.

“Well, that takes care of one. Now, for Hifumi’s.” Akira kept the conversation rolling.

Hifumi smiled. “I actually have an idea for mine, if that’s okay. The Demon Queen.”

“That’s a little… chuunibyou, don’t you think?” Ryuji replied. “Plus, we already have a Queen, that’s Makoto.”

Hifumi grumbled a little, but accepted it. “Well, okay. I thought it was cool.” She still felt lingering embarrassment over her somewhat overindulgent style she could fall into during matches, and now, it seemed, in phantom thievery.

Akira thought for a moment. “How about Star?” He’d already adopted it as a pet name for her after the arcana she represented, so using it here couldn’t hurt.

Hifumi nodded. “I like it.”

“All in agreement?” Akira asked. A response of nodded heads meant he was clear. “Then let’s get in there and find Mona.”

* * *

The spaceport was astounding, shimmering chrome so polished it could almost reflect anything. The Thieves didn’t have time to admire the grand constructions of the Metaverse, however. They had two missions- find and retrieve Morgana, and defeat Okumura and steal his Treasure. The first didn’t take long. Within minutes of entering, and without fighting even a single Shadow, a familiar voice came from an area hidden in one of the spaceport’s hallways.

“You? Why have you come here? The Beauty Thief and I will be taking this treasure!” Morgana posed with a cutlass. Next to him was an unknown, mysterious masked woman in black and pink.

“Mona?” Akira led the conversation. “I’m sorry.”

“W-what?” Morgana was clearly not expecting that, and it had him off balance.

“I didn’t express how much I care about you. I know better now. I won’t trample over your advice any longer.”

Morgana stood, stunned. He whispered for a moment to the woman beside him who he had called Beauty Thief. She replied, her words still inaudible. Finally, he answered Akira. “Okay.” He jumped down. “I didn’t expect you to realize how I felt.”

Akira smiled. “I had the sense talked into me, I guess you could say. Now come on, you belong with us. Plus, I see you’ve got a new friend? A beauty thief, as it were? We should talk to them, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! I played around with this arc some to help it fit better in this story, so hopefully you enjoyed it. I also like expressing Akira's vulnerable side, so that was interesting too.


	13. Spaceport Sweatshop Suffering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, the Thieves are able to infiltrate Okumura's Palace, and Futaba, Haru and Hifumi all get their first combat experience.

The now-burgeoning group of Phantom Thieves had retreated from the Metaverse and was once again huddled just out of sight near the Okumura Foods building. They’d returned from the Metaverse with the cat they were searching for, and an additional Persona user as well.

“How did ya even get into the Metaverse?” Ryuji asked the fluffy-headed girl.

“I was walking by and I heard a cat screaming out! I followed the sound of the yowls and it led me to Mona-chan, and those strange chrome buildings.” She replied.

“You really did save me in there, Haru.” Morgana said. “I criticized Akira for being reckless, but there I was alone in the Metaverse myself…”

“Wait.” Makoto interjected. “You aren’t surprised by Morgana’s speaking?”

“Hm?” The girl responded. “Oh, Mona-chan explained everything to me, don’t worry! I understand it all. That world represents a distorted heart, right? And when we defeat its leader and steal some object from it…”

Morgana cut her off. “Their heart will change.”

She nodded in response, and the group exchanged looks. Akira was the one to speak up. “So, Morgana explained this target to you, and you’re onboard with changing their heart, and you have the power to utilize a Persona?”

She hummed in agreement, and then Morgana stepped in again to clarify. “Her power over her Persona is weak, but I think she can become stronger.”

Akira smiled, and held out a hand for her. “Well, we’re not in the business of turning down new members. If you’d like to join us, welcome aboard. We have plenty of rookies already, so you won’t be too out of place.”

The girl bowed. “Thank you. It’s nice to meet you, everyone. I am Haru Okumura.”

That caused a short moment of silence, as all the Phantom Thieves’ jaws hit the floor. “Wait, Okumura?” Ann asked. “As in…”

“Yes.” Haru said solemnly. “This is my father’s palace. I have only ever known him to be considerate and caring until recently, but I hear horrible reports of abuse in our restaurants and factories.” She paused for a moment, collecting her thoughts. “Then recently, he has been trying to get me to accept an arranged marriage so that he can become closer to a family with a lot of political influence.”

“That’s horrible.” Ann said, her voice falling. “We’ve got to help you. A lot of us have had issues with our parents. Mine just go overseas all the time and leave me to fend for myself.”

“My mother tried forcing me into the idol world to gain some fame and severely wounded my potential career in the process.” Hifumi said glumly.

“My parents... well, I’d rather not talk about it. They’re not fond of me.” Akira chuckled, but it was extremely dry. He still didn’t like being vulnerable, and as their leader he still felt responsibility to shoulder a lot of the burden and stay quiet. He didn’t like talking about his family anyway.

“Well then, welcome aboard, Haru!” Morgana spoke, giving himself an imposing presence ill suited to his cat form. It seemed he still harbored the desire for some leadership even after his return. “This will be Futaba’s and Hifumi’s first mission, too.”

Futaba reacted to that statement by throwing up a peace sign, whereas Hifumi gently smiled and nodded. “That’s us.” Futaba said sarcastically, pointing at Hifumi.

“Oh, right.” Akira slapped his forehead. “We haven’t introduced ourselves.” Akira began to set up a longer speech, but he noticed a man in a suit nearby was glaring at them and was muttering into a walkie-talkie. “Well, we don’t have much time, so-” His finger began pointing hastily, starting with himself, at the various Thieves. “Akira. Ryuji. Ann. Morgana. Yusuke. Makoto. Futaba. Hifumi.” He spoke the names so fast they started to blend together, but he hoped it was understandable. Keeping an eye on the security guards behind them, Akira led his group around a corner of the building, and as soon as they were out of view, pressed a button on his cellphone. Once again, their world melted around them into crimson and black.

* * *

The hallways were no less imposing than before, a metal cage for the Thieves and the cognitive workers alike. With all of their members accounted for, however, they now had the luxury of time, which took away some of the stress that the science fiction labyrinth had caused. Futaba had begun scanning the surrounding area as soon as they had reached the Metaverse, and before the group had even encountered a single Shadow, they had a rough idea of the layout of the surrounding corridors. Futaba seemed to be taking to the navigator role quite well, as she beamed that rough map onto the wall to allow Akira to sketch it down in his ledger.

At the doorway between the entryway and the greater part of the spaceport, two large, steel reinforced double doors stood in their way. Behind them, robotic mutterings and stiff shuffling - the sounds of moving workers. Akira put his ear to the door to more carefully listen, and when the shuffling grew quieter, attempted to open the door. No dice.

“Oh! I recognize these!” Haru pointed to a device on the side of the door. “This is the same kind of biometric lock we have in our real headquarters! Which should mean…” She put an eye up to the scanner, and the door opened.

There was little time to celebrate their finding a way forward, however. A swarm of workers who had apparently been guarding the door came their way. Of course, the interior of the spaceport would be guarded. Akira was frustrated with himself for not thinking of that, but he reasoned that they’d have had to fight at some point. Better to just deal with this now. Akira swooped in front of the group to intercept the attackers, and the rest of the Thieves formed up behind him.

Akira tore away his mask, and one of his many Personas, Garuda, responded to his call. With a single point, it struck the robotic factory worker, which recoiled with a clank and a part clearly coming dislodged from its intended socket. It didn’t say a word. Akira couldn’t decide if it was because Okumura thought a true worker should suffer in silence, or because these cognitive workers were so overburdened they were used to this. He struggled to think which was worse.

Akira looked over his shoulder to Hifumi, who was sheltering behind the rest of the party, looking over the enemies with her persona Mitsuhide. The backline of the Thieves formed a protective ring around their navigator and tacticians, whose Personas had little combat abilities on their own. Hifumi’s Persona, while holding a sword, solely used it for dramatic effect.

“Star!” Akira called to her. “Can you tell me their weakness?”

Hifumi surveyed the enemies, scanning them. After a moment, Mitsuhide pointed its sword straight up, and she understood, as if her Persona had wordlessly contacted her soul.

“Hmhmhm…” She laughed, putting her fingers on her own mask, reveling in the power she felt. “I can see it! Blow them away with a singular strike of wind!” It wasn’t clear if she knew that she was shouting, but she had taken to the energy of combat well.

Hifumi’s overexcitement brought a smile to the face of her boyfriend and a puzzled look of confusion to the rest. Akira was glad to see once again the side of her that usually was only expressed during their shogi matches, while the others had only known her in passing as a reserved, studious player of an antiquarian game.

Akira would focus on the adorable outbursts his girlfriend was prone to when his life and the lives of his friends were not threatened. For now, he had to manage his group. 

“Mona! To the front! Skull, fall back!” The two exchanged places in a manner that had become practiced at this point, a maneuver which Akira had adapted from one of Hifumi’s shogi techniques. At the time, she had called it the “Togo System”. He wasn’t sure if she’d recognize it immediately, but he had found it extremely valuable, letting him bring whoever he needed to the front line.

Between Garuda and Morgana’s wind attacks, the factory robots were wiped out with ease, and the group continued progressing through the sprawling palace. With a little ingenuity, they were able to hijack the mechanical arms that blanketed the assembly lines, navigating their way through the factory floor and into the scaffolding of the spaceport. Were it not for their being in the Metaverse, they would surely be at risk from the lack of oxygen, but instead they could drift toward the center of the palace where the treasure was located with relative leisure.

A few more banished shadows, their weaknesses revealed by their new tactician, and the group entered yet another colossal structure. This one was a mess, a collection of disconnected rooms with only the emptiness of space between them.

“I can sense it, guys. The treasure will be just past this area.” Morgana said. “If we can manage to find a way past this.”

“Don’t even worry!” Futaba announced triumphantly, and began tapping away at the control panels to her Persona. It wasn’t long before Necronomicon spat out a map of the disconnected rooms with paths through the space between criss-crossing the page, along with annotated switches and detailed instructions. “I’ve got our path set out for us!”

Following Futaba’s guide, the group sailed to the launch room, where a hazy field marked the presence of a Palace ruler’s distorted desires. All that was left was to send a calling card and take a heart.

“Alright, should we get this done as soon as possible, as usual?” Ryuji asked, as the group celebrated finding an infiltration route while also making sure to memorize as much of the surroundings as they could.

“I think it’d be better if we waited until closer to the deadline. That way, there’s less of a chance of Okumura retaliating against us.” Akira said. “Plus, we’ll have time to rest. Three of our members are new, they’ll need to prepare before the big showdown.”

The group went their separate ways, eager to take a short rest before coming face to face with an enemy that would for some be their first, and for others be yet another at the end of a long road of trials. Hifumi and Akira walked together to the subway station, cherishing the minutes together before their divergent paths would rip them apart for the day, their hands intertwined. Their walk was silent, but not sad. They were at peace, content to share in a comforting silence. It helped that they were both exhausted.

As they walked, Akira’s mind was elsewhere, evaluating the performance of the group today. Everything seemed to be going perfectly. They were a well-oiled machine, where he took the lead, Futaba and Hifumi were able to navigate them around and determine their enemies weaknesses, and everyone else was ready to fight and protect each other. Everything was going exactly how it needed to to keep the Phantom Thieves going. He was so happy to have all of them in his life. Of course, one of them got preferential treatment. He squeezed Hifumi’s hand a little tighter. _I love you_. He didn’t need to say it again right now. She understood.


	14. Strong Coffee and Stronger Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira gets a surprise customer while working at Leblanc and the team's support squad develop their bonds.

It was late September, and yet Leblanc still felt like it was ten degrees too hot to be comfortable on top of being tired from exploring the Metaverse. Akira feverishly scrubbed a dish, hoping he could get lost in the zen monotony of cleaning long enough to ignore his humid surroundings. He tried training his focus on the warmth of the water in the sink, the slow bubbling sound of the nearby coffee siphons, the hum of the dying overhead lights that lit the cafe. It didn’t work, instead he was just hot and exhausted and the room was loud. The television on the wall muttered something about upcoming stories - the fall of Medjed and a puff piece about Big Bang Burger’s overseas popularity. Of course, the news didn’t know the truth about Kunikazu Okumura, but they would soon enough. They also didn’t know the truth about Medjed, because the real Medjed was about ten feet away from him, draping herself over one of Leblanc’s booths in a shared heat exhaustion.

“Akiraaaa….” Futaba whined across the room. “It’s too hot.”

Akira shrugged. “I know, but Sojiro won’t pay for A/C in here, so you have to live with it.”

“Can we go to Akihabara or something? I’m so boooored.” She laid on the booth upside-down, her glasses threatening to fall from her eyes as she pleaded with Akira for anything to distract herself.

“It’ll be hot there too, you know?” Akira continued scrubbing away at one of the dishes in the sink. “Plus, I told Sojiro I’d look after the shop, so I can’t.”

“Laaame.” Futaba flipped herself back over and pointed an accusatory finger at Akira, who was not paying any attention to her biting barbs. “You’re lame, Akira!”

The bell chimed, and the door swung open. Akira didn’t turn, instead, he had a robotic customer service speech for the rare occasion that a customer actually visited the hole in the wall restaurant.

“Hey, what can I get ya?” The practiced polite speech that still had a hint of down-home rural flair was something Sojiro had taught Akira during one of his coffee and curry making practice sessions. Despite being from the countryside, Akira had spent a lot of time practicing to remove that aspect from his voice, so it sounded far less natural coming from Akira than Sojiro. It was rough around the edges and imperfect, but he wasn’t really worried. He doubted that the request for an order would make or break someone’s custom anyway.

Instead of one of the usuals barking an order for curry, the patron simply sat down at the counter. He put the dish down into the sink and prepared to greet them again, more forcefully if necessary. Instead, he came to face to face with Hifumi.

“Oh!” Akira’s eyes lit up, and suddenly the heat and the exhaustion from the Metaverse no longer seemed to be a burden at all. “I didn’t expect to see you today. Can I get you anything? Coffee? Curry?”

“I just wanted to see you.” Hifumi smiled. “We’ve both been so busy recently, I thought you’d want some time to just hang out.” She fanned herself with her hand. “Isn’t it a little hot for either coffee or curry, though? Do you have anything cooler? Like… iced coffee?”

“I could put ice in the coffee.” Akira replied after a moment’s thought.

“Would that taste good? You’re the one who lives in the cafe, I’ll trust you.”

“Oh, no. Not at all. Also, Sojiro would kill me for that.” He replied, without missing a beat.

Hifumi giggled. “Well, it’s alright then. Would you like to play a match? I brought my set.” She pulled her artisanal shogi set from her bag and placed it on the counter between the two of them.

“Well, I’m out of practice, but…” He winked at her. “Just promise to show mercy on me and not kill too many of my soldiers.”

Her voice was teasing, but had a veneer of seriousness. “General Kurusu, you should know by now. I’ll take exactly as many of your soldiers’ lives as is required for you to surrender to my superior tactics, and not a drop of blood more.”

Akira took the first move, and slowly but surely found himself behind an advancing vanguard of pawns flanked by a bishop and a silver general. This battalion found a lone bishop, and seized it, taking prisoner the clergy of the Togo Kingdom. Unfortunately for Akira, this was all part of a devious trap Hifumi had laid for turn after turn, and he had sprung it. Soon, his advancing force was devastated, and his opponent had turned his own troops against him. With a promoted rook in his back lines, he lost more and more of his troops.

“Hmm…” Akira paused for a moment, hunched over the battlefield, looking far less like a barista than he should have for working the front of the shop. He traced a few lines from his pieces, trying to come up with a move. He knew he’d made a mistake when his minutes of agonizing over what to choose were responded to by an instant clack from his girlfriend as she swooped in for the kill.

“Once more, General, your king is threatened. Will you surrender with honor? Or will I be forced to sharpen my blade?” Hifumi smirked, moving a piece to place Akira’s king in check. It wasn’t mate, but it was close.

Akira spent a few more moments looking at the board. “I’m defeated once more, it would seem. I concede.” He shook Hifumi’s hand, an awkward formality that she had taught him when they first played. It seemed unnecessary now that their relationship was so much closer than as opponents, but it also seemed wrong to ignore her teachings on the subtle etiquette of the game just because she’d stolen his heart.

“You made some quite outstanding moves in that game, Akira.” Hifumi had shed her battlefield persona and was beaming at her boyfriend. “If I’m not careful, you may finally best me sooner rather than later.”

Akira demurred. “Well, you were out of practice, so I don’t think it really counts.”

“I’m never _that_ much out of practice! I’ve played this game since I was seven! You’re genuinely getting good; I wouldn’t just say that because we’re dating.” Hifumi spoke with the kind of gravity only she could have for shogi. “I have more respect for the game and for you than that.” She turned to stand up. “Well, that was fun. Would you care to go- AH!”

Futaba had taken up her left flank unnoticed until now. She was wearing her doll’s head mask and was staring intently at the board. “Hello. Keep calm, I am only observing.” Her voice was heavily muffled by the mask.

“Akira, did you see her there?” Hifumi was shocked at how she hadn’t noticed. _How long had she been there, anyway?_

“Yeah. She showed up towards the very end. I’m used to her doing that kinda stuff, so-” He shrugged. “I didn’t bring it up. You didn’t seem to notice because you were so focused. The way you act during matches, sweetheart, it’s pretty intense. It’s like you’re in another world.” He laughed a little. “Of course, I think it’s adorable.”

Hifumi still wasn’t used to Akira’s out-of-nowhere compliments, but she was a little too busy to be embarrassed. She asked Futaba, “Oh, do you play shogi?” She hadn’t asked this question in a long time. It used to be the first thing she’d ask anyone, but everyone thought she was too single-minded, too obsessed, and they’d mock her. Before she’d met Akira, she had pretty much stopped talking about it entirely. Now, she was reinvigorated, and wanted to talk about her passion again.  
“No.” Futaba’s emotions were invisible behind the mask. “But it seems interesting! It’s like a strategy game, right? I play a ton of those!”

“Oh? I’m not really familiar with a lot of other strategy games, I spend most of my time focused on shogi.” Hifumi replied.

“Here, I’ll show you!” Futaba grabbed Hifumi’s arm and headed for the door to Leblanc. “Akira, I’m stealing Hifumi for a while!”

Hifumi shrugged to Akira, and he knew once Futaba had an idea she couldn’t really be stopped. “Bring her back eventually,” was the only thing he said before those two were whisked away. He didn’t mind, he was glad to see both Futaba and Hifumi come out of their shells. Plus, he had work to do anyway.

* * *

Futaba’s mask now lay on the floor as its owner had excitedly pulled in her new colleague to show off a collection of her games. She tapped away at her computer as Hifumi looked around her room, silently wondering how a master hacker was able to live in the midst of such disorganized chaos.

“Okay!” Futaba finished her furious typing and grinned. “This is going to blow. Your. Mind.” She turned her monitor to the side, and Hifumi’s vision was overcome with a dizzying display of a group of space marines fighting some alien force that was too innumerable to comprehend. Futaba clicked a few more times, and another wave of soldiers ran out to continue the eternal conflict. “Pretty cool, right? I’m like, definitely in the top 1% of SpaceCast players.”

“Oh.” Hifumi was happy for Futaba, but she felt a little disappointed. “Isn’t this all a little… stressful?”

“Hm?” Futaba was becoming more focused on the game. She’d meant to just show it off, but she had a competitive spirit that made it hard not to try to win. “I dunno, I always get relaxed when I’m playing. It’s like a zen thing.”

Hifumi shook her head. “I enjoy shogi because it’s able to be slow-paced or fast-paced if you want it to be. Whenever I have a bad day or need to think about something deeply, I can take as long as I need. Well, a lot of the time I get too into it and…” She trailed off. “And it’s embarrassing, but this all seems too fast-paced. Oh, but I’m glad you enjoy it! If you ever go to a tournament, I’ll support you. Plus, I’ve been to a few if you need general tips.”

“Oh, that’s okay, not everyone’s into it.” Futaba said. “Akira won’t play with me anymore, I beat him too much.”

“Hm? He’s never stopped playing shogi against me, and he still hasn’t won. Though he’s come close…”

“Well, duh. He just likes spending time with you. It’s a good thing, I think.”

The two chatted away for a bit longer, and when they returned to the cafe Akira was glad to see the two had connected. He was finally done with work, so he was lounging on a table with coffee now that Sojiro had returned and he no longer had to work.

“You two have fun?” Akira smiled as Hifumi sat down next to him.

“She showed me a strategy game quite unlike shogi. It was… overwhelming, slightly?” Hifumi giggled. “I think I’ll stick with shogi, but it was a good experience.” She still wasn’t super comfortable with public displays of affection, especially in front of people other than the Thieves, so she squeezed Akira’s hand beneath the table. “Sorry for us not being able to spend time together, though.”

“That’s alright, I actually had a plan.” Akira pushed up his glasses. His voice sounded triumphant. “I was thinking that we could get everybody together later this week for something fun, to get everybody acquainted and to relax some before-” He realized Sojiro was in the room right before he was about to say something that needed to stay secret. “The big event. I was thinking karaoke?”

“Woooo!” Futaba cheered in the background. “Ka-ra-o-ke!”

Hifumi held Akira’s hand tighter. “Well, I’ve never really done it before, and I’m a little self-conscious…” She laid her head gently on his shoulder. “But if it’s with you, I think I could give it a shot.”

Akira smiled. “Great! I’ll get everybody together on the group chat and figure out a day.”

The two parted ways soon, but they knew they’d have more time together soon. Their routine of slipping between phantom thievery and their normal, almost peaceful lives was starting to become comfortable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter! This one and the next one are me playing around with the internal dynamics of the Phantom Thieves and the way in which the relationship would interact with those outside just Akira and Hifumi, which I think is really fun to write, before we get back to story progression stuff. Hope you enjoyed! :)


	15. Starsong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Thieves have one more hangout before their next big heist, and Akira tries to impress his girlfriend.

Bright lights and gaudy decoration greeted Akira as he arrived at the Shibuya karaoke lounge. He’d arrived first, seemingly, so he posted up against the entryway to await the rest of his group’s arrival. He wasn’t usually one to get to places early. He flicked through his phone idly, leaning up against the bricks of the building’s exterior. Just to make sure, he checked the Thieves group chat. Everyone had said this time worked, so he just had to calm his nerves and wait. He’d practiced singing some in his room the night prior, much to the chagrin of Morgana, and was ready to relax one more time before the group went up against their greatest threat yet. He was sure it would be a nice time and his friends wouldn’t be strictly judging his performance, but he felt a responsibility to put on a good show and to show off and portray himself as the perfect boyfriend in front of Hifumi.

Ryuji arrived first, which was also atypical. The blonde was wearing his casual outfit, a look that was only marginally more relaxed than his rule-flouting modified Shujin uniform. He carried himself with an unusual amount of confidence - the boy could be a bit of a braggart at times, but unreserved confidence wasn’t something he often expressed. “Yo.” Ryuji waved to Akira. “You feelin’ excited?” Ryuji pumped his fist.

Akira assumed his usual stoic, chill public persona. “Excited is a strong word, but, yeah, I’m looking forward to hanging out with everybody. It’ll be nice to get to know Haru, and to make Futaba and Hifumi feel more connected to the group.”

“You’re always so worried about everybody connectin’. Are you worried we’re not gonna get along? If so, don’t worry!” Ryuji beamed. “I think they’re all pretty cool.”

Joker dismissed the concerns with a wave of the hand. “Nah, it’s not that. It’s just-” They’d seen a lot of strange things together through their time as the Thieves, but he wasn’t sure if “An old man in my dreams told me to secure as many bonds as possible to become stronger” would lead to acceptance or concern. Instead he finished his sentence with “I know, just wanna make sure everybody has a good time.”

Trying to lead the conversation to sturdier ground, Akira got a glint in his eye and a smirk on his face. “So, Ryuji,” he dramatically leaned back against the wall, hands behind his head and one foot off the ground, “planning to impress somebody with your singing tonight? I’m sure Ann will be easily charmed.” Akira teased Ryuji.

As soon as he saw Ryuji’s reaction, he knew he’d hit gold. “Hey, y’know, it’s not anything like that. I just thought of some songs that she coincidentally might like.” He rubbed the back of his head. “How’d you know, anyway.”

Akira kept smirking. “Well, I didn’t, but now I do.”

They were lucky the noise of the Shibuya street crowd covered up Ryuji’s angered shouts and Morgana’s yowls about the need to respect “Lady Ann”. After a bit longer, Makoto and Haru arrived at the backstreet establishment, making their number four.

“Hello, everyone!” Haru’s chipper voice matched her smiling face. “Oh, that’s not a lot of ‘everyone’. I expected we’d be some of the last to arrive.”

Akira played with his glasses. “It’s okay, you’re just fashionably early. What were you two up to?”

“We were studying together after school, and then Haru showed me the garden she tends to on the Shujin rooftop.” Makoto said warmly. “It’s truly impressive how much she’s able to make grow on something you’d think is generally inhospitable territory.”

Haru giggled. “Oh, it’s not that impressive. It’s just simple horticulture. I can teach you about it, if you’d like.”

Makoto nodded, and the two shared plans to meet together.

“I can barely keep my houseplant alive.” Akira joked at his own expense, and the rest laughed.

Finally, the rest trickled in. Hifumi arrived, followed by Ann who had Futaba in tow. Futaba still looked slightly nervous, perhaps why Ann had been the one to bring her. Akira was glad everyone had collected, and turned his eyes to Hifumi.

“Ah, welcome, Hifumi.” Akira fluttered his eyelashes at her, the flirt he was. “I’ve been looking forward to seeing you again, dearest.” His voice was rich with an overexaggerated flirtiness meant to tease out embarrassment from his girlfriend.

Hifumi recognized this tactic immediately, but it was as true in battle as in love that recognizing a strategy does not make you impervious to it. Her eyes avoided contact as her boyfriend giggled at her bashfulness.   
“You’re so precious.” He whispered to her, making sure it wasn’t audible to the rest of the group. He only wanted to tease, not cause actual embarrassment, and he knew she was still nervous about this kind of thing in the group.

The two were separated from the group slightly, off in their own little world for a moment before they had to rejoin the group. “I’ve never done karaoke before. I was never very popular, so I’ve not had the opportunity to ever partake. I hope I won’t let you down.”

Akira ruffled her hair. “You won’t let me down. Just let passion take over and let your heart sing. You should know everything about that, right, Queen of the Togo Kingdom?”

“You know it’s not that easy to take my passion for shogi and use it for anything else.”

“I wish it was, it’s _sooooo_ cute.” He drew out the syllables in a sing-songy tone, unable to resist pushing a little harder when the reactions he got from Hifumi were so charming.

The two rejoined the idle chat of the main group. Futaba was going on about the selections the karaoke place might have. Akira interrupted with a loud “ahem” before Futaba was able to continue her next sentence about the complicated licensing situation of the Featherman Original Soundtrack.

“So, I suppose you’re all wondering why I’ve summoned you here.” Akira gestured to the assembled Thieves before him.

“No.” Yusuke was blunt. “You told us via text.” The rest of them similarly dismissed his grandiose speech.

The wind slightly taken from his sails, Akira continued. “Well, I just wanted to reiterate that we all need to have fun so we’re ready. This is gonna be a big moment for everybody, so let’s take this time to get comfortable.” With a smile, he led the group into the karaoke parlor.

* * *

Ryuji’s voice was… not particularly suited to singing, it was fair to say. His bold, aggressive speaking style was useful for intimidation, or sports, or to be heard over a particularly boisterous crowd. It was not, however, the correct key for the dulcet tones of the idol singer Anju Fuwa.

Still, the group responded to the conclusion of his performance with excited cheers. Whether this was out of politeness or out of joy that his turn had ended wasn’t clear, but Ryuji reacted to the energy of the crowd with one last shout before returning to the booth with the rest.

Ann clapped him on the shoulder as he sat back down. “Wow, Ryuji, that was really brave! I’ve never seen you go all-out like that before.”

Ryuji replied with a wink and a thumbs-up, the clear vagueness of the compliment seemingly eluding him. “I’m not used to that kind of music, but I kinda like it. Thanks for recommendin’ it!”

“Oh, if you wanna get into idol music, I have so much to teach you about.” Futaba’s eyes lit up, with a smile that dripped with mischievousness.

As Ryuji tried to work out what he’d gotten himself into, Akira strode up to the stage with confidence. Part of putting on a good performance was confidence, and he was used to putting on a show in the Metaverse.

He cleared his throat into the microphone, and everyone turned to him. “This song is for my partner in crime, Hifumi Togo.”

She buried her head into her hands, overcome by his showman’s attitude. He didn’t spend much longer waiting to begin. He broke into a song that he’d heard at a jazz club in Kichijoji, having a conversation that had been one of the stranger encounters he’d had in his life. The song was comforting and poetic, alluring in a way that he wasn’t used to. He thought it’d be the best choice. He typed a few buttons on the machine at the front and selected “No More What-Ifs”.

“People come and they go,” He launched into the smooth, calming tones, eyes surveying all his friends. “Some people will stay with you, though.” He couldn’t ask for a better group of people to count among his friends. He was beginning to be overwhelmed by the happiness he’d experienced in Tokyo. When he’d left his hometown, he was an outcast - tolerated by few, rejected by his own family. Now he had so many friends, a girl he loved with all his heart - a place to belong.

He fell into the sway of the song so hard, he could barely even tell how much longer he had. He wanted to crystalize this moment and have it last an eternity. Of course, such a thing was impossible. Their mission was running out of time - they had to take down Okumura soon. After that, there’d surely be another. He hoped at some point, when this all came to an end, they’d all be able to settle down and live something a little more calm. Not that he didn’t enjoy being a Phantom Thief, but he was starting to understand the value of a little more surety in his life.

As he transitioned into the final verse, he locked eyes with Hifumi. “My story will be starring me, just like yours. Who knows when it will end. What matters most is how you bring joy to life.” He smiled, eyes still fixed on Hifumi’s, then gave a short bow and left the stage, returning to sit next to her.

“That was beautiful.” Hifumi spoke softly, putting a hand on Akira’s legs. “I didn’t know you were into that kind of music.”

“I wasn’t until I came to Tokyo. A lot changed here. Like meeting you guys.”

Akira lost himself in thought as Yusuke and Futaba debated who should go next. Everything was going to be alright. He’d fought plenty of palace leaders before - what was one more?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The lyrics here were taken from "No More What-Ifs", which is the song that plays in the Jazz Club in Royal.
> 
> Hope you've enjoyed these slightly chill chapters. Things start getting intense again soon! :)


	16. Collapsing Under You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's finally time to take down Okumura. Everything's going to be fine, right?

The subway station was overwhelmingly loud as Akira left the Aoyama-Itchome station to head into the city proper. He’d spent the last week enjoying his time with his friends and enjoying his blossoming new relationship with Hifumi. Today was different. They had a job to do, and it suddenly felt real now that it was now or never.

“Did you see the calling card?” Akira overheard two nearby salarymen talking on the train car. This wasn’t the first thing he’d heard today about the calling card. As was typical for one of their missions, in preparation, Ryuji and Yusuke had produced hundreds of red-and-black calling cards bearing Okumura’s name. Overnight, they were placed at multiple Big Bang Burger locations, plastering the fast food eateries with grievous accusations of their CEO’s avarice and unbridled contempt for his workforce. It didn’t matter that Okumura would never deign to eat at his restaurants outside of a press event - the media would see it, know the public was hungry for news about the Phantom Thieves, and before long Okumura would receive the news that would make crystal clear his distorted desires.

Akira glanced up at the monitors, which displayed a news show. The chyron at the bottom told him exactly what he wanted to know. “ _After receiving a calling card from the Phantom Thieves, Okumura Foods CEO Kunikazu Okumura has announced a press conference later this evening. To be held at the Okumura Foods headquarters in Shibuya, insiders in the company have exclusively revealed to us that Okumura is furious and plans to deny all allegations._ ” Akira smirked. Okumura knew about the calling card, he was angry, and he’d already set up the stage for the big reveal. All they had to do was to deal with his shadow, and that furious denial would turn into begging for forgiveness. Everything was in place.

The train pulled into Shibuya station, and Akira picked up his bag and set off toward Okumura Foods. This was the last little hitch - security would certainly have been tightened up around the perimeter, and they had to get close enough to the building without arousing suspicions. Luckily, the Shibuya streets were packed as usual, and Phantom Thief discussion was the talk of the town. It’d be simple enough to get into a group outside the headquarters then enter with one quick strike. Akira had made the plan clear to the others over the group chat last night - meet up in Shibuya, say nothing until in the Metaverse, then a hopefully quick mission followed by exfiltration before their absence from their normal lives was particularly noticeable.

It wasn’t long before the entire Thieves were collected in Shibuya. With a small hand signal, Akira led the rest into an alley near Okumura Foods, the group moving as stealthily as a group of eight plus a cat could. When they were close enough, Akira pulled out his phone and the chaos of an overexcited Shibuya transformed into the chaos of a spaceport pulling out all the stops for one last, panicked launch.

* * *

Alarms blared through the once-calm hallways of the spaceport that now were bathed in red light representing emergency. Shadows filled the hallways in search of any intruders - luckily for the Thieves, their infiltration route was already set, allowing them to sneak by Okumura’s cognitive lackeys with little trouble. With the clever use of shortcuts they’d discovered and safe rooms they’d found, they returned to the site of the treasure. Just as they arrived, they saw what had once been a blurry haze was now the core to a launch system for the rockets that made up the center of the entire complex. It was too late to grab it from down here - it was already being lifted up in preparation for the launch. They had to hurry.

They carefully ascended the rickety scaffolding that surrounded the launch pad. When they reached the top, they found themselves face to face with the shadow of Okumura, dressed in science fiction spaceman garb and reclining in a floating chair.

“So,” Okumura pointed a bony finger at the lineup of intruders in front of him. “These are the fabled Phantom Thieves. I’m afraid you’re already too late to stop me. This spaceship will be launching me into the political world in mere minutes.”  
Akira went to shout back a reply, but Haru beat him to it. “I’m not going to let you use me to further your own aims anymore!” She spoke with a righteous fury that came from the heart.

“Oh, Haru,” Okumura’s voice changed subtly. “I shouldn’t have ignored you. You’re right.” If Akira had the chance to say something to her, he would’ve, but she took one cautious step forward, entranced by the seeming sudden change of heart her plea had caused. Of course, words were insufficient to change a distortion of this magnitude, and as soon as Haru had walked forward, Okumura sprung a trap. Laser walls surrounded the rest of the group, which was now split in twain.

Futaba began furiously typing away at the control panels of Necronomicon. “No! The power’s too strong… I can’t break us out of here!”

Akira bashed a fist against the wall to no avail. “Star!” He called out. “Is there any tactic you know of to escape something like this?”

Hifumi shook her head sadly. “I’ve seen many a situation like this on the shogi board. When one player is cornered so fully like this - the only result is checkmate.”

Morgana hatched an idea. While Okumura was busy taunting Haru, fully distracted, he retrieved his slingshot and fired at the remote control in Okumura’s pocket. He would likely only have one shot at this, and thankfully he struck true. The laser walls fell and the party took the opportunity to advance on Okumura. There were no more tricks, just the brutal reality of combat between them and the Treasure.

Unfortunately, Okumura made even battles complicated. Rather than fight personally, he beckoned more of his robot guards. Their tactician gave them a clear edge in this fight, however. Hifumi knew the weakness of each type of robotic worker they had seen so far, and declared the proper elements to use like she was reciting something from one of the books of openings she used to study.

Several waves of robots later, the amount of scrap metal piled up meant that no more robots were coming. Okumura had to admit defeat, and the launch was scrapped. The Treasure was taken, and without it, the rockets began to malfunction. The Palace was coming down around them, and the sounds of alarms that had once been overwhelming were now themselves crushed by the sounds of explosions and metal scraping against itself. For their past missions, they had stayed in the Palace until the owner had fully confessed - they had no such luxury for this mission.

The real world’s air rushed into their lungs, and they found themselves collapsed on solid ground in Shibuya once more. For those who had just experienced their first mission, it was hard to believe all that had happened was real, yet their aches and pains made it clear that it had.

Awkwardly scrambling to her feet, Hifumi broke the silence, her eyes fixated on Akira. “So, that was checkmate, yes? We’ve succeeded?”

Akira nodded triumphantly. “The change of heart should take effect sooner rather than later. That’s how it’s been every other time, after all.”

Haru’s phone buzzed, and she pulled it out of her bag. “Hm? Cancelling? I...I see. Yes. Thank you for letting me know.” The other side of the conversation was inaudible, but what little of the voice could be heard sounded gruff and authoritative. “That was one of the Okumura Foods directors. They were calling to let me know that my father cancelled the big event at Destinyland that was supposed to occur tonight after the press conference.”

Yusuke hummed pleasantly. “A sudden change in behavior… that matches what we experienced with Madarame and Futaba.”

Makoto concurred. “I think we did it, everybody.”

After a few quiet cheers, Ryuji spoke up. “Yo. Haru. Do you think you could sweet-talk your way into getting us that Destinyland reservation? Your company cancelled it after all, and what would be a better way to celebrate our biggest victory yet than a whole theme park?”

The group all murmured in agreement, and Haru’s eyes lit up. “I’ll send the board of directors an email and see if that can be done.” She tapped at her phone, and after a very short moment of tension, she smiled. “Yes! They say they can’t get a refund anyway, so I’m free to use it.”

Akira took the lead. “Alright everybody, let’s break for a few hours and then meet back up at Destinyland. Everybody thank Haru.”

The group was all smiles as they separated to prepare for their grandest celebration of thievery yet.

* * *

The castle that stood at the center of Destinyland stood imposingly over the rest of the park. It added a bit of grand mystique to an amusement park that wasn’t that old - a feeling that some mystery had yet to be unraveled, synthetic though it might be. Akira felt his eyes drawn to its parapets, its clock tower standing watch over the rest of the park. It all seemed natural for them- they had just conquered their greatest foe yet, the chairman of a multibillion yen corporation, and saved their friend. By the top of the hour, they’d be recognized yet again as heroes. It seemed fitting that they’d celebrate their success in such an ostentatious place.

The Thieves, under the guise of simply being Haru’s friend group from school, were gathered on the balcony of the restaurant near the entryway, eating dinner. The shadows of dusk had just now taken the sky, and soon the fireworks would begin.

“This is unbelievable.” Hifumi said, cutting into a baked potato. “Seeing this park empty like this, it’s truly breathtaking.” Her eyes scanned out over the horizon. Without throngs of people, every little light in the park could be seen from this vantage point.

“Oh, just wait until the fireworks.” Haru spoke with the tone of someone for which this was not the first private outing to Destinyland. “They’re magnificent.”

“Well, thank you very much, Haru.” Yusuke spoke, sipping a glass of some non-alcoholic wine substitute.

“I’m only sorry I couldn’t get them to get the rides working. They sent a bunch of workers home after we cancelled the first time, and they didn’t want to bring them back. It didn’t seem right to ask them too, anyway.”

Akira had an idea and spoke to Hifumi softly, barely above a whisper. “Would you like to walk around a bit before the press conference? We’ve got time and the place is empty, we could take the time to explore.”

“I’d enjoy that.” Hifumi took Akira’s hand, and the two slipped away from the group, moving from the fancy dining patio to the cobbled stones of the paths of Destinyland.

The overpriced shops and common eateries along the streets were emptied, allowing the two to enjoy the faux medieval atmosphere of the park. Akira ran his hand along the rough stone as they passed, taking in as much as he could. They’d probably only get to this once, after all.

“I used to come here as a child.” Hifumi spoke aloud. It wasn’t entirely clear whether she was talking to Akira or just to herself. “My dad brought me. I loved the way everything looked, the way it was larger-than-life.” She looked up, the central castle towering above them, impossibly tall. “He can’t anymore, obviously.”

“Maybe we can come back someday when it’s actually open, and we can ride some of the rides.” Akira put a comforting hand on her shoulder and smiled. “We can come with your dad when he gets better.”

Hifumi smiled back, but her eyes betrayed her grim outlook. “Thank you, Akira.” She sat down on the ground, laying back, gazing skyward. “The stars are beautiful.”

“My star is beautiful.” Akira laid down next to her, eliciting a giggle from his terrible joke, lightening the mood. “This castle is quite impressive, would you like to use it as the crown jewel of the Togo Kingdom?”

Hifumi laughed. “I don’t know that you have castles still to give to me. I feel like I’ve taken most of them as prizes of war by this point.”

They kept their eyes fixed on the sky, and a purple explosion filled the darkness. A green star-shaped one followed. The fireworks had begun.

“We should get back, the press conference will be starting soon.” Akira said, but didn’t move yet.

“Just one more moment.” Hifumi sat up, and pulled her boyfriend up. Akira went in for a kiss, and she fell into it.

Hand in hand, they returned to where their friends had gathered, ready to parlay their moment of bliss under the stars into a greater triumph as they watched Okumura confess his sins. They rejoined the group quietly, the rest already gathered around a phone streaming the conference. Akira could already see it in his mind, just as he’d seen the previous confessions - tears streaming down Okumura’s face as he apologized.

His stomach sank when he saw his confession turn from apology to ichor and blood pouring from his eyes. Okumura fell dead onto the table, eyes white.


	17. Unraveling Conspiracy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Phantom Thieves deal with the fallout of the Okumura heist, and Akira has his resolve tested.

Akira wanted to run. Four successes, perfect operations - nothing had happened like this. The closest they’d come to this was when Kamoshida had threatened to end his own life, but Ann had talked him out of this. Now, he couldn’t even begin to bear thinking about what he’d done. He’d _killed_ Kunikazu Okumura. There was blood on his hands. Worse, he’d taken his friends and made them accomplices. The subject of his blossoming love was complicit. His brain was screaming at him to flee - step out of this reality that must be some sort of nightmare and back into his old one. If he ran far enough, he’d be back home in the countryside before all of this - but every muscle in his body was frozen.

The rest of the Thieves were still looking on in horror at the stream, as blood kept pouring out from Okumura’s mouth. The stream cut soon after, replaced with a dull, lifeless gray. In the sky, fireworks continued to go off. To Akira, each detonation sounded more like an artillery shell hitting a trench than a celebration filled with innocent, childlike joy Destinyland was meant to inspire.

Haru’s shaky voice broke the stunned silence. “I, um. I have to go. Feel free to stay as long as you want, everything is already taken care of on the payment end.” She could barely stay composed before hurriedly leaving. Nobody felt confident enough to say anything to her before it was too late to catch her. They’d have to contact her over text messages, assuming she was going to listen to what they said at all instead of immediately reporting them to the authorities.

“We did everything just like we always do.” Ryuji’s voice was entirely monotone, his eyes fixed on the floor.

Akira wanted it to be true, but knew there had to be a difference in some aspect. If everything was done the same, after all, this wouldn’t have happened. He racked his brain, thinking through every little aspect of their heist. The answer would have to reveal itself if he could just figure out what they did wrong. The calling card? Similar to all the rest. The delivery was indirect, but surely that couldn’t cause that much of an impact. They’d fought the palace owner much less than in previous ones, as most of his strength was made up of his lackeys, but they’d been careful not to kill the Shadow. In previous palaces, they’d waited until they saw the Shadow dissipate, but they hadn’t had the time to do so when the spaceport started collapsing around them…

“We need to think about this rationally.” Makoto sounded no less despondent than Ryuji or Haru had, but she had a hint of conviction and composure.

Akira nodded. “We didn’t see the shadow vanish into light like the others.”

Yusuke spoke up, a note of hope present. “Madarame-sensei-” He hesitated for a moment mentioning that name. “- and Kaneshiro both mentioned the man in the black mask. You mean to say he intervened between when we left Okumura and when the palace fully collapsed?”  
“It’s possible.” Akira said. “Though we’re just looking for reasons to excuse something that we obviously caused.”

Futaba shot a glare at Akira. “We didn’t do it!” Her cry was halfway between a scream and a sob. “Akira, you changed my life. I saw you change my heart with my own eyes, and I know it didn’t kill me! I’m standing here right now, aren’t I?” Her speech was almost accusatory.

Hifumi put a hand on Akira’s shoulder, earning his plaintive gaze. “I still believe in you, Akira.” She mulled over her words for a moment, then corrected herself. “No. I believe in us. Without the Phantom Thieves, I’d still be trapped in a world that was totally manufactured, lying to everyone about my own true skill. We’ll get through this.” She smiled, though it seemed as if even she was uncertain if that was true. “A general cannot give up after one lost battle, right?”

“We should talk to Haru.” Ann broke her silence. “She’s going to be feeling this harder than anyone. Do you think she’ll even still trust us?”

“All we can do is hope.” Akira replied. “I think we should go home. Try to shake off the emotions so we can work on this without a dark cloud over our heads.” The group split, barely even staying to say their goodbyes.

Akira had told the rest of the Thieves to clear their heads, stay focused, but on the way home he couldn’t help himself from constantly refreshing the news and the Phan-Site. The news was lit up immediately - it was hard not to see the connection between a mysterious sudden death, just like the mental shutdowns, at the confession of someone who’d just received a calling card.

He pulled up a news site on his phone. A live broadcast, plastered with “BREAKING NEWS” banners, automatically played. Akira saw a group on the stream he’d seen dealing with Phantom Thieves news many times in the past.

“Akechi-kun, thank you for coming in on such short notice!” A polished newscaster sat in a blindingly bright room, with a positive attitude that seemed inappropriate for the situation.

“Aha, I’ll have to make up for my beauty sleep up some other time, but I just couldn’t not give my take on the current developments.” Akechi flashed a huge smile to the audience from his seat on the couch by the news anchor. It was very obviously a practiced line, but to some, that wouldn’t matter.

“Now, Akechi-kun, you were one of the most vocal critics of the Phantom Thieves on our show during the Medjed crisis. This is something that’s earned you a lot of grief from the media and the public. Now that the actions of the Phantom Thieves have caused a death, do you feel vindicated? Is there anything you’d like to say to people who doubted you, or perhaps people who stood by you?”

The detective prince put his hand on his chin in a move Akira had seen him perform many times on these talk shows. “Actually, I’m unconvinced this tragedy with Okumura-san is actually the fault of the Phantom Thieves at all.”

Akira’s brow furrowed. Akechi hadn’t been one to shy away from his criticism of the Phantom Thieves, and this seemed as easy a moment as any to go in for the metaphorical kill. Was Akechi just a natural contrarian, or did he know something that most in the public didn’t? He had supposedly been tracking the Phantom Thieves for a long time, and he’d made some strange comments the first time they’d met at the TV station. It was certainly possible that he had some deeper understanding of the situation.

The news presenter was as shocked as Akira had been. “Really? Akechi-kun, this is a shock.” His surprise turned into excitement as he realized the ratings boost a shocking revelation such as this might give the show online and for Akechi’s next appearances. “What’s led to you having such a dramatic reversal of opinion?”

Akechi downplayed that, shaking a gloved hand in disagreement. “I wouldn’t characterize it as such. Make no mistake, the Phantom Thieves are immoral, and their methods are dangerous. That being said, I do not believe they are murderers.” He gave another smile to the cameras, along with a subtle wink. “Call it a detective’s intuition. I’m not fully familiar with their methods, but murder has never been among them.”

“Incredible information, Detective Akechi-kun! We’ll continue discussing the situation as it develops…” With that, Akira closed the stream. Akechi had been a thorn in their side for a while, but this strange behavior cemented the need for them to keep a closer eye. Their operational security had been loose at best in the past - they had to cover every angle.

The subway was approaching Yongen-Jaya, so Akira took one last look at the Phan-site. Comments were pouring in, a mix of unquestioning support and scathing condemnations, though the latter seemed to disappear into deletion alerts almost as fast as they appeared. The poll results showed that a group of the public was still solidly on their side, though that was slipping.

He left the subway and headed back to Cafe Leblanc. Sojiro accosted him almost the moment he walked through the door. 

“Whoa, hey. What happened? That girl dump you?” Sojiro asked with unusual concern. It seemed Akira’s shaken emotions were still evident on his face.

Akira wasn’t sure how to answer. Of course, it was no conventional source of sadness like a breakup - but “your temporary ward might have just been framed for murder” was not something anyone wanted to hear. He dismissed the concern with a mumble about “school troubles” and headed up to his room.

He splayed himself on his bed, Morgana jumping out of his bag to perch himself on the shelf nearby. He started practicing his words to Haru in his head, mumbling some of them out to himself.

“Are you sure you can handle this tonight? It’s been a rough day, you might want to get some rest before you talk to Haru.” Morgana asked the clearly mentally exhausted Akira.

Akira shook his head. “I want to talk to her tonight. It’s better to deal with these sorts of things early.” His fingers started moving rapidly across his keyboard. He hadn’t heard from Haru tonight, and the group chat was still silent. He sent her a message. “I know you have very little reason to trust us at this point, but I assure you we didn’t cause what happened to your father. There’s someone out there using the Metaverse for their own goals, and it’s connected to the mental shutdown cases.”

Haru’s response soothed his worries some. “I trust you. Maybe I shouldn’t, and I’m being naive - but I believe you. I won’t be able to be around for a little while as I handle the estate. I’m sorry.” Even in the midst of a tragedy she was apologetic.

“I understand. Take the time you need.” Akira sent that back, then switched to the group chat. “I’ve spoken with Haru. She’ll be busy for a while with the fallout from this, but she’s on our side. Now we just need to figure out our next steps. Did anyone else catch the news?”

The chat was unusually quiet, but Makoto was still around. “I did. You’re referring to Akechi’s statements?”

“Mhm. As much as I hate to say it, we might have to talk to him. We have no leads otherwise.”

“I have a plan for that. We have the school festival coming up. I’ll see if we can get him invited as the guest, then we can browbeat him for answers.”

The plan was set, and though Akira felt somewhat like they were walking into the lion’s den, they had little other choice. He killed his lights and wrapped his arms around a pillow, attempting to recall the innocent joy he’d felt with Hifumi at Destinyland. He fell into an uneasy sleep that itself was punctuated by waking up in a cold sweat, tormented by nightmarish visions of the death he had just seen. Solving the mental shutdowns couldn’t happen soon enough.


	18. A Sinking Feeling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (WARNING: This chapter contains (in my opinion) very minor Royal spoilers. Essentially, one of the new Royal characters is introduced. Keep this in mind if you're trying to go fully spoiler-free.)
> 
> Hifumi and Akira have something almost approaching a real date at the school festival, but their plan to get information out of Akechi turns on its head.

For most of the students at Shujin Academy, seeing the school decorated for the season and adorned with myriad decorations helped restore a thin veneer of normalcy to a school year that had been wrought with one tragedy after another. To Akira, it was just a reminder that being a Phantom Thief had become something he couldn’t flick on and off. If he wasn’t fully committed to this, working at every possible opportunity, the whole world beneath him and his friends could come undone in the worst way possible. Thanks to that, he walked into his school festival with no pretense of being able to pleasantly enjoy poor-quality food prepared by his classmates or a sham haunted house. Tomorrow, Goro Akechi would be at the festival. Today was to set up for that.

The entire campus was buzzing with a nervous excitement that Akira could practically feel as he walked through the school gates. In the courtyard, those of his friends who were from Shujin had already gathered. The others were seemingly latecomers, which made some sense - they didn’t attend here, after all.

“Yo!” Ryuji called to Akira across the courtyard. “You pumped?”

Makoto cut him off. “You know we aren’t just here to have fun, right? We have a _job_ to do.”

“Yeah, but we can have a little fun, right? Right?” Ryuji looked at Akira with pleading eyes, begging him for an assist. 

“We need to act natural while still preparing to talk to Akechi.” Akira spoke firmly, threading a middle way between the two. “We can participate in a little bit of the activities, but if we aren’t ready to get that “detective” dead to rights when he arrives, well…” He trailed off. He didn’t want to think about that. The police were definitely on the Okumura case, and it was just a matter of time.

Hifumi, Yusuke, and Futaba trickled in over the next few minutes. The two Kosei students looked a bit out of place in their uniforms, while Futaba stayed to the side, distancing herself from the rest of the crowd by remaining behind her friends. She hadn’t really spent much time at a high school, after all.

With Hifumi at his side, Akira felt his apprehension toward enjoying the festival fade slightly. They had to act normally, and what was more normal than a young couple enjoying the festival together. He wasn’t sure if that was really what he should do or if he was just lying to himself to get an excuse to spend more time doing normal “dating” activities, so he tried to focus on the importance of the task at hand. _Just a little bit. Just enough to seem normal. Your life is at stake here, and so are theirs._

“So, Akira.” Hifumi’s soft voice shook him back to reality. “What do we actually do at this festival?”

“You’ve never been?” Akira sounded a bit more incredulous than he meant to.

Hifumi shook her head. She looked a little embarrassed. “I’ve never attended my own. I’ve always been too busy.”

“I don’t know if the Kosei festival would be representative of a normal school festival anyway. Here, I’ll show you around.” Akira led Hifumi into the building, leaving the rest of the group behind.

The halls of the school gave off even more of the nervous vibe that the courtyard did. Everything was decorated in an over-the-top way that acted as if there was an amount of gussying up that could paper over the calamities the school had gone through this year. Advertisements for different classes’ attractions were pasted everywhere, trying to wow attendees. Akira let his eyes scan over one of the bulletin boards.

“So, each class has some sort of setup…” Akira was ostensibly explaining the way it worked to Hifumi, but he was mostly just mumbling to himself as he searched for something interesting. “And, uh… Oh!” His finger came to rest on a poorly graphically edited stock photograph of a ghost. “It says Class 3-A is doing a haunted house, that could be fun!”

Hifumi looked doubtful. “Can you really set up a haunted house just in one classroom?”

Akira grinned. “That’s part of the fun, to see how you’re able to set up something with some limited resources!”

Slightly skeptical, Hifumi followed Akira to the third floor, where some first-years had draped their classroom in imposing black cloth. They entered the room, pushing aside the cloth from the doorway, going from the light of the outside to the mild darkness of the inside, though that was less impactful due to the natural light from the windows, which the creators had barely covered.

Rearranged desks formed a small maze through the class, and conspicuous objects blocked a few sight lines. Akira and Hifumi moved forward with a bit of trepidation, and no more than a few seconds passed before a student jumped out behind a large box, dressed in a shoddily made costume. This was good for little more than a primal flinch, and the two shuffled out of the maze almost as soon as it began.

“Oh. That was quite disappointing. Are all the setups like that?” Hifumi asked.

“Essentially. You get what you can from a room that small, you know.” Akira replied. “Sorry it wasn’t scary enough.” He subtly snuck a hand around behind Hifumi and tapped her shoulder, eliciting a jolt from her. He laughed, and she gave a half hearted glare at him before smiling in response.

They continued to wander the halls looking for anything interesting, but continued to come up dry. The meager resources of a school festival made it difficult to find something truly interesting. The two stopped to take a rest and appreciate some of the decor when another of Akira’s acquaintances arrived.

“Senpai!” A girl with tied up crimson hair came sprinting towards the two.

“Nice to see you, Kasumi.” Akira turned to greet his occasional trainer partner, who seemed to have a surfeit of energy, as she often did.

“Oh, are you with someone?” Kasumi glanced over at Hifumi and noticed her uniform. “I recognize that uniform! You’re from Kosei!” Kasumi bowed. “I hope you’re enjoying our festival!”

“It’s… endearing.” Hifumi smiled.

“So Akira, how do you know her? You have so many friends!” Kasumi sounded quite excited.

“Ah, I should introduce you. Hifumi, this is Kasumi Yoshizawa, our school’s gymnastics prodigy. Kasumi, this is Hifumi Togo. She’s my girlfriend.” Akira said matter-of-factly.

“Oh.” A little bit of disappointment could be heard from Kasumi’s response, but she brightened up again quickly. “Togo? I think I heard about you on the news, something about a shogi tournament?”

Hifumi frowned. “I’d rather not talk about it.”

“I understand. I think everyone has things they’d rather not talk about.” Kasumi nodded. Her phone crackled, apparently trying to summon a ringtone through shattered speakers. “Oh! Sorry, I’ve got to go. I hope to see you guys around again! Enjoy the festival!”

“We should probably go too, and meet up with the rest of our friends.” Akira said. “Maybe we can go see my class’ stand. It’s a maid cafe.”

“That sounds even less likely to succeed here than the haunted house was.” Hifumi frowned.

“Yeah, I’m just lucky I didn’t get dragged into working it.” Akira winked. “Come on, let’s go.”

* * *

Their group had coalesced once more on the second floor. The rest had seemingly split off into smaller splinter groups earlier, and were now debriefing about the various activities they’d encountered.

“So, Futaba. How are you enjoying your first excursion into the new dimension of high school?” Yusuke asked with typical loquacious flair.

“Not as scary as I expected. Though there don’t seem to be that many people here, so maybe that’s part of it.” Futaba’s eyes were glued to her phone, but she made conversation nonetheless.

“It would seem most of the people waited until tomorrow so they could see Akechi. It makes sense, he’s exploded in popularity again after recent events.” Makoto’s words had hints of indignation.

“Oh, I haven’t minded it being slightly clearer at all! I was able to have Mako-chan help with my garden without much interference!” Haru said.

“What were you two up to?” Ann asked, eyes pointed at Akira and Hifumi.

“We went up and experienced a bad haunted house.” Akira said bluntly, and Hifumi laughed.

“Yo, can we eat? I’m starviiiing.” Ryuji whined, gesturing to the maid cafe takoyaki sign in front of them.

The group found seats in the classroom-turned-restaurant, and an awkward server came to take their order. With an order for “market fresh takoyaki with special takoyaki” placed, they reflected on their surroundings and began to scheme.

“This isn’t market fresh at all. I can hear the microwaves in the back.” Futaba scowled toward the area that had been repurposed as a “kitchen”.

“It’s a festival, what’d you expect?” Makoto said. “Anyway, we need to figure out what we’re going to do tomorrow. How are we going to get the info from Akechi?”

A voice outside the door cut through. “Oh, sorry, did I hear my name?” The brown-haired detective prince slid the classroom door open and butted into the conversation.

Akira turned on his charm and greeted him immediately. “Ah, hello, Akechi. We were talking about how excited we are to see your panel.”

“Is that so?” Akechi smiled, what he truly knew of them a mystery. “I’m pleased to hear that. It’s humbling, really.” He stood before them, sizing up the collection of people in front of him. “What a strange group to be together. A pupil of Madarame, the daughter of Okumura, and the girl whose mother was revealed to be fixing matches…” He put a hand to his chin in thought, but the veneer was paper-thin at best. He knew something was up, he just wasn’t ready to dig the knife in yet. “Well, I’ll see you all tomorrow, I suppose.” The server came back with the takoyaki, and he plucked the special one off the plate, popping it into his mouth. He began making a suave exit, but after the heat of the takoyaki hit his taste buds, he ended up running instead.

Akechi’s humiliation did little to ease the Thieves’ nerves, however. He was onto them.

* * *

The next day, the Thieves were assembled in the backroom of the school’s auditorium. Nerves filled the air as they awaited Makoto’s return with Akechi, whenever she was able to create a distraction and spirit Akechi away.

The telltale sound of footsteps made it clear the moment of truth had come. Akira squeezed Hifumi’s hand, and she smiled back, hoping to ease his nerves. In reality, she was just as unsure about this as he was.

“Let’s not mince words, shall we?” Akechi launched into a speech as soon as he entered the room, flanked by Makoto. He pulled some photographs from his jacket and spread them across the table. The whole of the Phantom Thieves, disappearing and appearing in and out of thin air. “We all know what’s going on here, don’t we?”

Akira had experience talking, but this was the ultimate challenge. Be perceived as just vulnerable enough to lure Akechi into their trap. “Well, you’ve got us. That said, a paranormal explanation won’t play well.”

Akechi laughed, a clear affectation. “You’re correct. That said, I don’t know that you understand how desperate the police are for a win. My partner is getting very worried about all this. I’m worried she’s going to fabricate evidence to get a conviction. That’s why I came to you. I won’t see our justice system betrayed by her. You know her, don’t you, Niijima-san?”

“What?” Makoto looked stunned. “You don’t mean…”

“Oh, I do. This is serious.” Akechi turned to walk back out to the adoring crowd. “When you’re ready to change the heart of Sae Niijima, contact me. It’ll be the last job the Phantom Thieves do. If you don’t, I’ll turn what I have over to the police. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone still sticking with the story. I'm having a ton of fun working on it, it's sort of become a larger project than I expected, so I hope you're enjoying it. Lots more to come. :)


	19. Tough Talks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Note: The first half of this chapter, e.g. before the horizontal line break, contains minor character death, and discussion thereabouts. I hope this doesn't bother anyone, but I wanted to give people a warning just in case.)
> 
> Hifumi and Akira both have very tough discussions they rather wouldn't have.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note/Warning: As said in the summary, the first half of this chapter contains minor character death and discussion/themes about that. I wanted to give people a warning in case that bothers anyone. Thank you.

The revelation that Akechi knew more than he let on had shaken the Thieves to their core. They had little choice but to go after Sae Niijima, but they had fallen into an uncomfortable holding pattern for the time being. It would be a difficult operation, and none of them had the fortitude to spring right back into the Metaverse after a tragedy. For Hifumi especially, the cavalcade of tragedies had not yet concluded. The day after their meeting with Akechi, she received a phone call she had hoped would not come for quite a lot longer.

The pristine eggshell walls were almost suffocating. The hallway would have been deathly silent were it not for the occasional sound of electric interference from flickering fluorescent lights above. The corridors were bare, and there was nothing to focus on but the conversation ahead. She wasn’t ready for this, but there wouldn’t be another chance. She stopped at a door, comparing the number on the placard to the one written on the note in her pocket. 348. This was it. She knocked at the door, and a buzz from within indicated the door was unlocked.

The hospital room was marginally more livable than the hallways, but only just. Pale sunlight streamed in through the window, giving a small ray of hope against a bleak backdrop. Hifumi put her bag down and sat on a chair next to the bed.

“Good afternoon, father.” Hifumi smiled. She had spent so little time with her father ever since he became sick. She was glad to see him again, even if the circumstances were inideal. 

Her father sat up in his bed. “I’m glad to see you, Hifumi.” He smiled in a way that seemed like he was pulling every muscle in his face. “I’m sorry I haven’t been around to watch your matches recently.”

_Ah, that’s right. He didn’t know._ Her father had been cut off from the news while sick. He didn’t know about everything that had happened in her life. Had he known what her mother had been doing? He cared deeply about shogi, she highly doubted he’d have signed off on what her mother did. It was just a matter of how to explain everything in the most tactful way possible.  
“It’s okay, father. Things have been… chaotic, recently anyhow.” She stifled a sigh, not realizing how hard it would hit to try to explain how everything fell apart for the person who had been most invested in her true dream outside herself.

“Chaotic? How so?” Her father raised an eyebrow in concern. When last they’d spoken, Hifumi had been set to enter the professional leagues. Now the best she could explain it as was “chaotic”?

Hifumi squinted her eyes and rubbed the bridge of her nose. She had to be honest. “Well, things in my life have changed a lot. I’ve had to change my plans regarding joining the professionals. That said, I’m a lot happier now. I think I was rushing too fast to become professional. I’m taking a step back to work on being an amateur.” She smiled again, trying to emphasize this was a positive turn of events, even as she didn’t want to explain the true treachery of her mother’s actions. “I brought my board, if you wanted to play.”

Her father smiled. “I’d like that. Please, you have to tell me more.”

The two began a game of shogi, just as they had many times in Hifumi’s childhood. Hifumi found it hard to watch - her father’s moves were slower compared to when they’d once played, everything taking a little longer to finish. He still played the same styles he did then, but they’d lost their luster. Still, she treasured this match, almost as much as any other she’d played.

A few moves in, the board was developed, and the two could resume their conversations. “I’ve got a whole new group of friends, father.” Hifumi said in between dramatically placing down a promoted bishop on her father’s side of the board. “And a boyfriend. He helped me practice this new set of moves, even. I call it ‘the Clergyman’s Invasion of Troy.’”

“I’m so glad to hear you’re making friends, Hifumi. You were so isolated for so long, I was starting to get worried.” His face lit up. “And I’m glad to see your passion for the game hasn’t fallen, either. Reminds me of when I was a young player, except you have so many more moments of brilliance.”

Hifumi nodded. “I’m much happier now. I finally have a place I fit in. They don’t even mind how I get sometimes during matches. Akira even says it’s cute.” She felt butterflies in her stomach just thinking of that. “And once everything calms down again, I can start working on climbing the shogi ladder once more.” She moved another piece. Checkmate.

“You’ve grown so much in your play, Hifumi.” Hifumi’s father’s eyes were shining. “I wasn’t even able to keep up with some of your plays. With some more practice like this, I think you’ll easily be able to broach the barrier into the high-tier shogi world.” His eyes fell. “I’m only sorry I won’t be there to see it.”

Hifumi nodded solemnly. “I know. I’m sorry I couldn’t do it faster.”

Her father shook his head. “No, no. You should focus on yourself, Hifumi. No matter how long it takes, know I’ll be proud of you.”

Tears welled in her eyes. “Thank you. I’ll be sure to make you proud. I’m going to triumph. Not just at shogi, at everything.”

“The doctors say I don’t have much time left, but I’m glad to see you again, Hifumi. Take care of your mother for me. Make sure your boyfriend cares for you. If he doesn’t care for you, he’s not worth it.”

“He does. So, so, much, he does. Thank you. I’ll do my best.” Hifumi wrapped her arms around her father and started to cry. She wanted to hang onto her last time with him as long as she could.

When Hifumi finally had to leave, she was hit with a horrible sense of dread. This would be the last time she saw her father. No amount of hope would change that - soon she would grieve, but after that, she had to continue on and make him proud.

* * *

On the other side of Tokyo, Hifumi’s boyfriend found himself in a troublesome situation. He was returning to Leblanc after taking Futaba out to shop, when he found Sojiro beside himself, a red-and-black document sitting in front of him in one of the booths. Sojiro’s fist was clenched on the table, and his head was barely an inch above the table.

“Futaba.” His voice was shaky, anger threatening to break through. “What the hell is this?” He threw the calling card that she’d received when she had asked the Thieves to steal her heart. “I was cleaning out your room, and I found it. Please. Be honest with me.”

Akira stepped in front of her. “Let me explain. It’s not her fault.”

Futaba didn’t countenance that. She ran to Sojiro’s side. “No, I’ll explain it.” She glared at Akira. “You need to stop trying to fix everybody’s problems all by yourself. I can handle it.”

Sojiro sighed deeply. He was scared for his adoptive daughter, scared for his supposedly delinquent ward, and scared for his own life and what he knew higher powers could do. Still, he was trying to keep it all under control. He could deal with it.

“So.” Sojiro’s voice was calmer, but still wavering. “Is this a ‘real’ one? As in, did they actually ‘change your heart’, however such a thing might happen?”

“Yes! Of course they did, Sojiro! They changed my life!” Tears were streaming down Futaba’s cheeks and she lost control of her volume, practically screaming. “I stayed in my room for so long because I could only feel the pain of Mom’s death around me! If they didn’t do anything, I’d still be trapped in there! I’d be…” She couldn’t finish the sentence. She fell into Sojiro’s arms, tears pouring from her eyes.

Sojiro tried to reassure her. The anger he felt was being diffused by the reaction of his daughter; with her heart so open, he couldn’t stay mad about the Thieves. Still, he was worried.

“It’s okay, Futaba. I’m not going to do anything against you guys.” He looked up at Akira, his gaze now noticeably a little harsher than when he spoke to Futaba. “I assume everyone who comes around here is involved with this, yes?” He shook his head a little after Akira nodded in response.

“Sojiro, they saved me.” Futaba had recovered, now filled with conviction. “Why do you think I was able to change everything so suddenly?”

“I know. I know. I’m just… worried for you. I’ve heard what they’re talking about on the news. You’re all going up against some scary guys. I probably shouldn’t go too deep on this, but I used to be involved in the government. I worked with some of these people.” He stopped himself. Probably not best to bring up Wakaba while Futaba was around, especially not with tensions already running high. “They have a lot of power. They’re terrifying. I don’t know how you guys do what you do, and I don’t want to know. Just. Please. Be safe.”

Akira nodded, his blood running cold. “We’re going to win.”

“Tch. You say that now.” Sojiro stood up. “I’m going to take Futaba home. If you need to use the cafe for anything in the future, just let me know and I’ll close up early. I already know I can’t persuade you to stop this. All I can do is hope I can help you succeed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. Don't worry if you prefer fluffier stuff - some happier stuff will be coming sooner rather than later.


	20. Quiet Sobs, Calm Nights, Warm Hugs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hifumi needs reassurance after a family tragedy.

Akira lay in bed, staring at the unfinished ceiling of his attic abode. They still hadn’t come to a plan regarding Akechi and Niijima, but he was used to compartmentalizing his Phantom Thief work away from his mood at this point. What worried him today was that Hifumi hadn’t spoken to him, or anyone in the group, for nigh on two days now. He scrolled through the group chat again, just to make sure. Nothing from her, just idle chatter about nonsense from the rest of the group to try to hide their anxieties over how the stakes were rising. He sent her a quick message. “Is everything alright?” He put his phone back down, losing himself again in the mix of anxiety and hopelessness that had come to consume his days.

He wasn’t sure when he next broke from his malaise, but he’d received a response. “Sorry.” One word in the first message, which had quickly been followed by “Do you think you could come over? I haven’t been feeling myself recently.”

Akira quickly replied. “Of course. Can you send me your address? I haven’t actually visited your house before.”

Hifumi responded with another apology and her address, and Akira was off, swiftly boarding the subway with a deep concern for his girlfriend. He hadn’t seen her this out of it since she had issues with her mother that fateful day she awoke to her Persona. He didn’t want to leave her adrift.

When the subway stopped, he found himself in a district of Tokyo slightly more prestigious than Yongen-Jaya, not far from the church in Kanda where he and Hifumi had met for the first time. It wasn’t wealthy by any means, but it was comfortable. He followed his phone’s GPS to an unassuming little house among many along the roadside, knocking on the door with three quick raps. 

He was greeted at the door by a woman he had met once before - Hifumi’s mother, Mitsuyo. Her face was crestfallen, her eyes reddened from what Akira presumed was crying. She spoke, voice hoarse for similar reasons. “Oh. I recognize you. We met at the church; you were speaking to Hifumi.” She shook her head slightly, as if remembering a painful past. “I have so much to apologize for. I was incredibly rude to you. I’m so sorry.” Her voice cracked at the end, fading away into the din of Tokyo.

Akira nodded. “I appreciate the apology. No hard feelings.” He paused for a moment. “Is Hifumi here? She asked me to come see her.”

Mitsuyo’s face turned to a sad smile. “She did? I’m so glad. She’s barely left her room the last few days. Yes, I’ll lead you there.”

Akira followed her inside, and she shut the door behind him. His first time in Hifumi’s house was far from as joyous as he’d hoped - _something_ was wrong, clearly. At least her mother no longer seemed to hate him.

“This is her room.” Mitsuyo stopped outside a door. “I’ll leave you two alone.” As she turned to leave, she said one more thing. “I’m sorry for doubting you. The way Hifumi talks about you… you seem like a good friend to her.”

* * *

Hifumi’s room was small, but neatly organized. As Akira cracked open the door, he surveyed her living space, and the focus on order was one of the first things he noticed. The second thing he noticed was his girlfriend, lying in her (much larger than Akira’s) bed. Hidden beneath a pile of blankets, she seemed almost lifeless, were it not for her breathing and occasional shifting. She hadn’t noticed him yet.

The mischievous side of Akira saw the opportunity to sneak up on her, but the general mood of sorrow in the household made his responsible side stamp that down. Instead, he gently slid on to the end of the bed. “Hifumi? I’m here.” 

That got her attention. She sat up, her face a deathly white pallor. One of the blankets fell off her shoulder, revealing that she’d forsaken her usual outfit for some comfortable-looking pajamas. “I’m glad you came.” She tried to force a smile. It worked, but her sadness wasn’t hidden even a bit. “Sorry I sort of dropped out of the world for a while after the festival. Stuff came up.”

Akira moved closer to her, steadying himself with his hands on her shoulders. “Hifumi, what happened?” He used a soft tone, trying to make everything as comforting as he could. At this point in his life, he was more experienced in dealing with touchy subjects than he’d ever expected he would be. “It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it right now. If you’d prefer, I can just be here.”

Hifumi shook her head. Her usually pristine hair had been tossed asunder by what had now been days of laying in bed, plus the lack of preparation before Akira had arrived. Her mizuhiki knot threatened to escape. “It’s okay. I want to talk about it. If I just bottle it in… I won’t get anywhere. I have to be strong.” She furrowed her brow, trying to find enough strength within herself to pull herself together. For just a moment, she succeeded. “My father passed away several days ago.”

Right then, everything clicked into place in Akira’s mind. Her sudden and total disappearance, not even wanting to get up out of bed - that made sense. He’d felt similarly after the trial against Shido. When something that major goes wrong in one’s life, it can be very easy to get swept away by the current. Her sad smile at Destinyland when he’d raised the issue of her father - had she had a feeling this was coming?

He wrapped his arms further around his blanket-cloaked girlfriend, trying to bring the physical comfort inherent simply to being near another warm body. She sunk into his embrace almost immediately, head coming to rest against his chest. Simply being in his presence made her feel slightly better. She should’ve done this earlier, but she couldn’t summon the energy necessary. She was glad he reached out. She meant to say all that, but instead she let the silence say it for her. She sloughed off the blanket she was wearing and hugged Akira in turn, pulling herself closer.

“I’m so sorry, Hifumi.” Akira whispered. “I’m here for you. You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.” He ran one finger through her hime-cut hair.

“Thank you.” She choked out a few words through nascent sobs, voice muffled by pressing herself up against Akira’s midsection. “I mean, the doctors said it would be happening sooner rather than later. I thought I had made myself prepared for it. It’s different when it actually happens, though.” She wiped some of her tears off on Akira’s shirt. “I feel like one of my most important pieces has been captured. All my strategies are left undone...”

Akira found a small amount of levity in that, even now, she still had her mind on her passions. It made sense, he supposed. Her father was her closest connection to the game she loved. Akira tried to bring her comfort. “I know it can be hard. I’m here for you. Not all is lost.” He slowly patted her on the back.

“I know. My father said something similar the last time we spoke. He told me to be strong, that I should keep working on my dreams. The problem is, I couldn’t really explain to him how those had changed recently.”

_Because they’re about the Phantom Thieves_ , Akira realized. “I’ll support you no matter what you aspire to. Whether it’s in shogi, or for us, or for the Phantom Thieves.” He smiled. “I’ll be there with you. I’ve got your back. So do the others.”

Hifumi managed a small smile, pulling away from Akira a little to make herself visible. “Thank you. You’re the best, Akira.” She put a hand up to her forehead, and winced in pain.

“Oh, you should probably drink something, since you’ve been crying. Stay right here, I’ll go get some water.” Akira reluctantly broke away from Hifumi’s embrace, and replaced the blanket around her before going in search of water.

After a little direction from Mitsuyo, he found a cup and filled it to the tap. When he returned, Hifumi was fully sitting up in bed, looking a little calmer. Of course, these sorts of sorrows didn’t vanish instantly, but a little bit of support from friends could go a long way. Akira proffered it to her, and she took a sip, and gave an appreciative hum.

“Make sure to take care of yourself, my star. You’ll feel worse if you don’t.”

Hifumi nodded. “Mhm. Thanks.” Her eyes revealed a deep relief. She was usually very polished, very put together. Even now, her daily habits were affected by the twin benefit and burden of a life once meant for stardom. In sorrow, she lost both, and was glad to have Akira there to pick her up when she fell.

Akira sat back on the bed, sidling up to stay close to Hifumi. “Is there anything else you need to talk about? Would you prefer I stick around, or leave you alone?”

“Definitely stick around.” She wrapped an arm around his shoulders, keeping him close once more. “I feel so much better when you’re around.” She paused. “I do have one more thing to talk about, if it’s okay. I don’t want you to deal with too much of my negativity.”

“Hit me. I’m here for ya.” Akira grinned, acting a little over-the-top to encourage her.

“You’ve talked to my mother today, right?”

“A little, yeah. She seemed pleasant enough this time, unlike last time.”

“Yeah.” Hifumi sighed deeply. “That’s part of why I’m having trouble adjusting to stuff. With Father gone, she’s all I have for family. And she’s nice again now. But she hurt me so much before you changed her heart. It’s not so easy to just brush over that. Even though she’s different now, it’s hard to get over it.”

Akira hugged her. “It’s okay to not be willing to forgive her yet. Or ever, if that’s what it comes down to. Focus on yourself, whatever form that takes. I’ll be by your side to help.” 

“I appreciate it. If it’s not too much trouble… do you think you could stay the night here? I haven’t been able to sleep well the last few days, but you bring such a calming presence. I don’t think my mother will mind. She’s tried to stay out of things ever since the change of heart.” She winced. “Which is part of what makes me feel bad for not forgiving her.”

“It’s no problem. I’ll let Sojiro know, I don’t think he’ll mind.” Akira cuddled up to his girlfriend, nestling himself within the blankets, and within minutes she’d fallen asleep. 

Akira found relaxation in the cozy place he found himself in, wrapped in blankets next to his girlfriend. Once they’d dealt with everything as Phantom Thieves, he could get used to this kind of peaceful slumber. He would like for this to be his everyday. Thoughts of this calmed his mind even more, and sleep for him followed not much later. He was glad he could bring some calm to this tumultuous time in Hifumi’s life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was very fun to write. Hope you enjoyed the sweetness. :)


	21. Grand Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A calm morning for a budding relationship melts into an anxious planning session. Lots is on the line for Akira.

Akira woke up to light streaming through the windows of Hifumi’s room. Soft, warm sunlight shone onto the duvet he’d buried himself under. Beside him, Hifumi had monopolized more of the blankets in her sleep, arm forming a tight grip around the covers. It was still early, and Akira didn’t want to disturb the peace on her face by waking her yet. Plus, she looked so adorable, temporarily free from the anxieties of the real world. Remaining as still as he could, he took the time to take a closer look around Hifumi’s room. It was meticulously laid out, nothing seemingly out of place, with few garish colors to avoid catching the eye. He noticed the top of one of her dressers was barren, but not dusty. He imagined that this was where she’d kept her shogi accolades, and a little dagger went into his heart. _I’m going to help her get those back, fairly this time._ He envisioned her standing on some pedestal, holding a trophy… maybe they could put it up in Leblanc? 

He shook his head, banishing his far-too-forward daydreams from his head. They had to focus on what was current now, and any fantasies he had of the two of them celebrating their successes in a cafe had to wait. He considered again whether he should wake her. He could wait a little longer, he figured. He laid his head back down on the pillow, taking in the serenity for as long as he could.

Unfortunately for him, that wasn’t much longer. His quiet rest was interrupted by four paws slamming into his stomach. He lurched, barely staying on the bed, managing to stay silent enough not to wake Hifumi. Standing on his stomach, Morgana was staring into his soul.

“Sorry to interrupt, Akira, but we have to meet up with the others today to plan for the next heist. We don’t have time to daydream.” Morgana said. He was right. They were beginning to run out of time, and if they didn’t deal with Sae before Akechi contacted the police…

Akira didn’t want to think about it. He knew what he had to do. He waved Morgana off with a frustrated furrow in his brow. “Alright, alright. Give me a minute and we can get going.” He gently nudged Hifumi’s shoulder, and she reacted with a quiet, sleep talking murmur. Another slightly more forceful nudge roused her from her dreams.

“Mmh… Akira?” Her voice was still stilted from sleep.

Akira shot her his max-charm grin. “Good morning, sweetheart. Hope you slept well.”

Hifumi smiled back. “I did. I should thank you for that. I was finally able to clear my mind long enough to get some rest.”

Akira gave her a hug. “I’m glad to hear that. I wish we could stay and rest, but we need to go talk about, uh.” He paused for a second. “The big problem we’re dealing with at the moment.”

Hifumi nodded. “I understand. We can go in just a bit.” She smoothed out some of the wrinkles in Akira’s uniform, which he’d worn to bed. “You’re lucky it’s Sunday, you couldn’t go into class like this.”

“Oh, I could always just skip one day. My homeroom teacher and I have an understanding, she’d cover for me.” Akira said, punctuating his statement by laughing in a way that made it unclear whether he was joking or not. He then picked up his bag containing Morgana and stepped outside Hifumi’s room for her privacy.

Akira waited a few minutes outside the room, and eventually Hifumi joined him, transformed before his eyes from the adorable messy haired Hifumi he’d now only met once to the usual one he knew, dressed in her casual orange-and-blue patterned dress, hair perfectly straight. He loved every aspect of her, both the chaotic and the orderly. Arm-in-arm, the two headed to Leblanc, where they would be meeting with the rest of the Thieves to discuss Akechi’s ultimate and Sae Niijima’s heart.

* * *

Upon entering Leblanc, Akira saw the crestfallen, worried faces of the rest of the Thieves. Suddenly, the halcyon morning where he’d peacefully woken up with Hifumi seemed a million miles away. They had to conquer this obstacle before they had any hope of a peaceful, domestic life that he’d got just a tiny taste of.

All the Thieves save the newly arriving Akira, Hifumi and Morgana had arranged themselves in the booths of Leblanc, finding spaces where they could around their intelligence-gathering core of Makoto and Futaba. Akira and Hifumi took the other side of the booth. There was scarcely room in the cafe for customers at this point, but out of politeness, Akira figured he should ask his guardian for permission.

“Excuse me, is it okay if we use the shop for..” Akira cleared his throat as a sort of subtle signal. “A study session?”

Sojiro smiled. “Sure thing. I’ll close up shop early and get out of your hair.” He’d already spent the last few minutes mechanically rubbing a spotless counter with a cloth, clearly not expecting much more work to happen that day. This was more of a formality.

When Sojiro finished his end-of-day routine and locked up, Akira spoke, taking the lead of his group once more. “Alright, everyone. It’s been almost a week since Akechi gave us his ultimatum. I don’t think we have any choice but to change the heart of Sae Niijima. Are we all in agreement?”

The rest of the Thieves nodded their heads. Makoto, despite joining the chorus of agreement, had her eyes fixed firmly on the floor. 

Akira held out a hand to Makoto. “I’m sorry. I know this must be hard. If you don’t want to join us, then-”

Makoto shook her head. Akira saw a facial expression he thought might even be a glare, as if she was offended by the suggestion she wouldn’t participate. “It’s okay. I understand what has to be done. Plus, I’ve seen how my sister has changed recently. I’m loath to admit it, but…” She sighed deeply. “Even without Akechi’s influence, I can see how her heart might need to be changed. Perhaps we wouldn’t have without this, but it doesn’t change that fact.”  
“Alright.” Akira turned to Futaba, who as usual since she joined the team was heading up the surveillance effort. “Futaba, have you found out anything about Akechi’s ulterior motives?”

Futaba grinned. “I was able to hack into his cell signal, and I’ve been recording every word he says for the last few days. It’s a little spooky the kind of stuff he’s been saying, but now that we know, we can set him up to fail.” She laughed a mischievous sounding chuckle and slammed her finger into a button on her laptop, and staticy audio poured from its speakers.

“Oh, I know it sounds impossible. But you can’t argue with my results.” The distinctive voice of Goro Akechi was unmistakable. “The way we get rid of them? It’s simple. I’ll lead them into that world under the pretense of cooperation. When they’re trying to make their escape, we can send in the police to that world - I’ll facilitate that, if need be - and we can capture their leader. From there, it’s very easy. He goes to police interrogation and then due to a truly incompetent set of guards, he’s able to get a weapon and kill the guard and himself.” At that moment, Akechi’s tone changed from matter-of-fact to a hint of vindictiveness. “The rest of them are weak-willed. They won’t be able to continue on without him. Of course, if we feel it’s necessary, we can always clean up the loose ends later.”

“If you hadn’t produced such impressive results with the mental shutdowns, I’d hardly believe this. Given your track record, however, I think I can leave it to you.” A gruff voice that Akira felt he faintly recognized was in conversation with Akechi, but he couldn’t quite place it. “I hope it’s clear that I’ll be willing to cut you loose if this doesn’t end up as planned.”

“Oh, certainly, I understand. But I’m not worried.” Akechi had a bouncy, affected positivity that was completely out of sync from the plans he was making.

The audio cut off there. Akira felt a pit in his stomach. The vague threat of potential legal action had hung over him since the Okumura incident, but a direct, meticulously planned threat on his life and his friends’ lives raised the stakes intensely. He slung an arm around Hifumi’s shoulder and called to mind the daydream he’d had earlier. _The two of them, him in an apron running Leblanc, her elated from another tournament victory, him embracing her in celebration, a passionate kiss as she pushed him against the countertop… None of that was possible for a man executed in an interrogation room._

“Dude. That’s effed up.” Ryuji snapped him back to reality.

Akira tried to keep a positive face. “Well, we’ve dealt with worse, right?” They had not, but Akira didn’t want to let doubt creep into his mind or those of the rest of the Thieves. “So let’s get cracking on a way to defeat this detective and find out who the person on the other end of that call was. I’ll put on some coffee. This might be a long night.”

* * *

Hours later, the group at Leblanc was burning the metaphorical midnight oil. Futaba had taken the counter to herself, intently tinkering with the Metaverse Navigator on her phone, trying to find a proof-of-concept way to activate it remotely. Makoto had laid out a map of the courthouse and surrounding areas, and Yusuke was attending it, sketching out any battle plan thrown out by Ann, Ryuji, or Haru. Morgana paced around on the tabletop, mediating those suggestions. Hifumi had pulled out her shogi board and pushed pieces around, trying to simulate the flow of battle. Akira was exhausted, weighed down by being at the center of all this. After a while trying to keep everyone focused, he’d now run out of batteries and laid down along one of the booths, leaning up against Hifumi. In most situations, around the entire group, this would have made her slightly bashful, but there wasn’t time for that.

“Morgana, will the jail be part of my sister’s cognition?” Makoto circled a building on the map, which Yusuke accented with an elegant, subtle trim.

“I can’t say for certain, but if it’s a strong enough part of her cognition, I don’t see why not. Do you think she thinks about it enough?” Morgana spoke with the confidence of someone who knew just a little more than everyone else about the Metaverse.

“It’s a not infrequent topic. If it turns out it’s part of the cognition, then we can use it to our advantage.”

“Aha!” Futaba cheered from her makeshift research counter, raising her arms in celebration. “I think I can remotely activate the Nav! Sure, we don’t know where it comes from, but it still follows the same rules. If I just simulate a screen-tap on the navigate button… it should work!”

Morgana was starting to put the pieces together. “So you’re hoping Sae has a cognition of Akira in the interrogation room, and if you activate the Nav at the right time…”

Hifumi stared at her shogi board. She swept off the pieces, then replaced a king on one side, a gold general on the other, and then started placing additional pieces on the side of the king. Eight more pieces, one for each of them except Akira, who was represented by the king. “We’ll fool him into killing the cognition.” She smiled at their ingenuity, then paused for a moment. She placed the remaining unused pieces on the opponents’ side, the enormity of what they were up against starting to come into view. The enemy forces outpaced the typical shogi starting position. Could they really do this?

“Will we be able to convince Sae to get Akira out after that?” Ann chimed in.  
“We don’t have a lot of choice. This has to work.” Morgana replied.

Hifumi took another look at her shogi board, then down to her boyfriend who had fallen into her lap by this point. She ran a finger through his messy hair. She was going to protect him, just like he’d helped her. She had to. She’d already lost one of the most precious people in her life because she couldn’t do anything; this time she had the power to stop it.


	22. The House Usually Wins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Phantom Thieves' greatest heist yet begins, and they're betting it all - including their leader's life.

The courthouse building stood stoic in front of Akira, uncaring of the internal turmoil he felt. The brutalist building glared down at him, its grey facade against a similarly drab overcast Tokyo sky. The day was finally here. They knew Akechi was going to attempt to backstab them, but they had little choice but to walk into his trap and hope their plan to outwit him would work. The assembled Phantom Thieves surrounded them, along with the detective acting as a thorn in their side. Akechi wore a smile so sweet that Akira could have been fooled into thinking he truly meant what he said to him in person - had he not heard the phonecalls Futaba had recorded.

“I’m excited to see the inner workings of the legendary Phantom Thieves. I trust you won’t disappoint me.” Akechi smiled, gesturing to the entire group but words pointed like a dagger at Akira. “Oh, and I’ve spoken to Akira so much, but this isn’t the first time we’ve met either, is it, Togo-san?”

“Ah, yes.” Hifumi recalled a memory, grimacing at the thought. “Back when my mother had her idol obsession… she seemed to believe that if I appeared on Good Morning Japan enough, that I would both become popular in the idol world and grow to enjoy it. She may have even been right on the first part.” She shook her head. “But I could never get used to those interviews. So vulgar, totally uninterested in anything other than ratings...I don’t know how you live with it.”

Akechi responded with his signature airy laugh. “Well, I won’t deny it takes a lot of practice, and I’m certainly not the same person on camera as I am in real life. That said, I think there’s a certain charm to taking a television audience and wrapping them around your finger. I can understand not enjoying it, though.” He pondered for a second. “You and Akira are both so committed to staying true to yourselves. Perhaps that’s why you fit so well together. But it also means I’ll have to go in disguise to your wedding to avoid the paparazzi descending on me.”

Hifumi’s face went red, and she stuttered out a reply. “W-what? Wedding? That seems far too far in the future to be thinking about now.”

In the distance, Akira was still pretending to intently examine the courthouse building as a pretense for hiding his own embarrassment.

Akechi winked. “Merely a joke, don’t worry.”

Ryuji walked over to Akira, waving a hand in front of his face. “Yo, Akira, you ready? We got this man, we just gotta follow the plan!” He gave his leader a thumbs-up and a wink, and Akira returned to the group, trying to maintain courage in the face of such an intimidating fortress. Soon, they’d be in the cognitive version of this courthouse, the belly of the proverbial beast that the shadows of palace owners became.

Akira blew a kiss to Hifumi as subtly as he could, then opened the Meta-Nav and sent them in. This was in. They were gambling his life on their plan to defeat Akechi. They just had to hope they didn’t go bust.

* * *

“Oh my.” Makoto’s eyes were wide at the revelation of her sister’s palace. Much as Joker had contemplated the quiet terror of the real-world courthouse, Makoto now stood agape in front of her sister’s cognitive casino. “I didn’t realize… things were so…”

Akira placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Are you going to be okay? I understand if you have to take a moment?”

“No. We have to do this.” Her eyes were watery, but her stance and tone made it clear she was determined.

“Alright.” Akira took a stand at the head of the group. “Well,” he pointed to Akechi, “I guess we should introduce you to our system if you’re going to fight alongside us.”

Akira introduced each of their code names in turn, then returned to Akechi. “We’ll need one for you, too. We aren’t totally sure, but we think using our real names in the Metaverse might have deleterious effects on the target’s real mind.”

“Yeah, and it sounds badass, too.” Ryuji added.

“Hmm... how curious.” Akechi smiled. “Well then. What should my code name be? My thief outfit has a bird’s mask, so how about Karasu? It’s Japanese for crow.”

“That’s way too over-the-top. How about just Crow?” Ann replied.

Akechi looked crestfallen, but he wasn’t there to start fights. “Alright. It’s so bland in comparison, but I’ll accept your guidance. You’re the veterans, after all.”

“Now then, our combat setup.” Akira had no desire to capitulate to Akechi’s disappointment regarding his codename, and continued on roughshod. “Oracle provides our scouting and navigational layout. Star manages our tactics and helps me manage our party composition. The rest of us fill out the front lines or watch the flanks. I trust you’ll have no issue fitting into that role?”

“Robin Hood and I are very adept at fighting. I can actually utilize both Curse and Bless-aligned skills.” Akechi said. “Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to boast.”

“Let’s get to finding an infiltration point. Oracle?” Akira was laser-focused on the task ahead, surveying the exterior of the palace.

“Hmmm…” Futaba had summoned Necronomicon and was hard at work scanning the area. “Too many signals on the ground floor, and the front doors are totally swarming with guards…” She furiously typed at Necronomicon’s controls. “Aha!” She banished her Persona and pointed at a rickety set of stairs nearby, finger tracing the air to show a makeshift route along nearby roofs into the casino. “I think that’ll get us inside, then we just have to get down from there!”

The Thieves took a careful path, able to navigate along the treacherous route that was their only option. Akira broke one of the casino’s upper floor windows with dramatic flair, landing on the scaffolding that held up the lights. From there, they could see the internal layout of the palace as well as its inhabitants.

“All the cognitive versions of people seem… entirely conventional.” Yusuke said.

“It must mean that Sae’s impression of most people isn’t distorted.” Morgana explained.

Akechi interrupted. “So, now that we’re inside her ‘palace’, what do we do to change her heart?”

Akira was about to explain, but Hifumi got to it before him. “Well, our apprentice Crow. First we’ll dispatch any shadows we discover with a mortal strike, find the treasure in the depths of our opponent’s heart, then strike fear into them with a calling card and take the treasure that defines their empire!”

Akira couldn’t help but smile at that. It had been quite some time since he’d seen Hifumi in her element as much as she was here, and her overly energetic explanations and gestures were downright adorable, though he wouldn’t say that now, given they had a job to do.

Akechi seemed to gain an innocent pleasure from that revelation. “So the calling card is necessary rather than just a flourish! How wonderful! That’s really quite stylish.”

Akira smirked at Akechi. “You know, you could always join the Phantom Thieves permanently instead. Who knows what kind of stylish heists we’ve yet to pull off?”

“No, no. I’m afraid I have no interest. Plus, this is the final heist, after all.”

Akechi’s words stung. Akira wasn’t planning to have this be the final heist, but he couldn’t reveal that. He still had to get to the people who Akechi was working for, and even if he took out Akechi now, they’d have few leads.

Instead of responding, Akira silently led the group down a set of ledges to the ground floor. Hifumi couldn’t help but steal a glance at her boyfriend. In the Metaverse, he moved with a grace that wouldn’t be expected based on his somewhat dorky demeanor outside the Metaverse. She kept her eyes on him for another moment, as long as she could without holding up the group. She loved that boy. She was going to save his life here.

* * *

After a bit of exploration and a collection of threats from the shadow of Sae Niijima, the Phantom Thieves found themselves in a true gambler’s den, surrounded by the sounds of rolling dice and spinning roulette wheels. Myriad lights clouded their vision, and hard on their luck gamblers wandered the hallways begging for a change of fortunes.

“This place is so strange… I’ve never been in a place that exuded such gambler’s energy.” Hifumi looked on with awe. “It’s almost...exciting.”

“Oooooh.” Ann saw the glint in Hifumi’s eyes, and saw a moment for a bit of teasing. “Joker, I’m thinking you should use your cut of the Mementos money to take her to Vegas once everything settles down.”

Akira shouldn’t have taken the moment to consider it, but something about it appealed to him. “Ah, well, I don’t know if my Mementos share will cover that.” He looked apologetically at Hifumi, who shrugged. After all, she hadn’t even been the one to ask for it.

“The man at the counter said we needed a great deal of tokens to gain entrance to the upper floors, yes? Do we have a strategy for acquiring them?” Haru asked the group.

“Well, Miss Gambler, you seem enthused about the subject. Care to take a spin?” Akechi asked Hifumi.

Hifumi suddenly lost her confidence. “Well, I haven’t actually gambled much at all. It’s just that the shogi scene has a fair amount of overlap.” She thought for a moment, then gathered her courage. “Well, I shouldn’t be one to back down from a challenge. I’ll do what I can!”

“Do you have a name for your plan yet?” Akira asked, a smile on his face. When Hifumi shook her head, he shouted out, “The Shining Star’s Conquest of the Gilded Nightmare!” 

Akira pumped his fist in the air, and Hifumi started laughing. After a moment of the rest of the group looking on, she recovered, and the two led the rest into the dice games room.

* * *

After just a few rounds of the casino’s simple high-or-low game, Hifumi was upset. The dice were continually rolling in the house’s favor, but not by simple misfortune. She had paid careful attention to the way the dice rolled, and she noted slight discrepancies - little bounces, and even a few quick snaps. It was rigged.

“They’re cheating.” She walked away from the table, brow furrowed and fists clenched.

“Are you sure? I mean, could just be bad luck.” Ryuji said.

“I watched one of the dice flip. I’m certain. I’ve seen the occasional cheater in my time, and I’m positive this is an example.” She sighed. _A lot of this could have been avoided if she’d simply noticed it when her mother was involved, she thought. But then I wouldn’t be here, and I would’ve never started dating Akira, none of his warmth or cute jokes or his steady hand. He probably wouldn’t have been there after Father..._

“Well, we’ll have to find out how they’re cheating and shut them down.” Akira saved her from her own thoughts.

“I can detect some kind of backroom behind this area… maybe we should try there first?” Futaba was already scanning the surrounding floor plan.

After a few battles in the staff area of the dice room, a suite of control panels confirmed Hifumi’s strongly held suspicions. However, with a few taps of the screen, they became masters of their own destiny, and soon ventured toward the next floor.

“Do you have an appointment on this floor?” A strange, melting shadow asked in a raspy voice.

“There must be some kind of cognitive block here. Queen, do you know any place in the real world this might correlate to?” Morgana asked.

“It might be one of the courtrooms?” Makoto hypothesized.

“We’ll need to return to the real world, then. If she sees us in the courtroom, we should be able to get through.” Morgana replied.

After that, the group had to retire for the day. With much of the casino charted, they had come much closer to their goal - but all still rested on the confrontation with Akechi, and whether their plan worked. As they left, Akira held Hifumi’s hand.

“You fit very well in the casino. I could almost be convinced you’re some kind of high roller, my star.” Akira half-whispered into Hifumi’s ear.

“I don’t know if it’s my kind of scene, but thank you. I’ll come up with my own names for the plan next time, though.” Hifumi giggled, and the two shared as much time as they could. After all, there was a real risk it might be one of their last moments of peace.


	23. Fate's Fetters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The casino heist comes to its grand, if inideal, conclusion. Multiple schemes start in earnest and in opposition.

Akira’s second time in a courtroom felt no more comfortable than his first. Almost a year ago at this point, he sat in a courtroom very similar to this one. A retinue of high-priced lawyers representing Masayoshi Shido had stood on one side of the room. The man himself hadn’t even bothered to show up. On his side, the then-reserved Akira Kurusu was alone save for a beleaguered public defendant. Over the course of an hour, Shido’s attorneys made every argument they could to encourage a judge dismantling Akira’s life. With the word of a wealthy, rising-star politician on one side and a teenager tripping over his speech on the other, the judge agreed, dooming Akira to his current fate.

He pondered for a moment. Was this really that bad? Sure, Shido’s interference had essentially banished him from his hometown for a year and caused him to uproot his life and forced him into a new school, but he hated his hometown. He always felt out of place there. Here in Tokyo, he had friends, a girlfriend, a place to belong.

He shook his head. As much as he felt more comfortable in Tokyo, it was pure fantasy to tell himself it had had a net positive impact on his life. The false assault charge that Shido had stuck him with would surely follow him for the rest of his life. The stigmas associated might never fade.

His mood now soured, he sunk back into the uncomfortable chair in the courtroom’s viewing area. He looked to one side, where Hifumi sat, looking far more comfortable than he did in this hyper-professionalized environment. He couldn’t deny there were some benefits to this whole situation.

Today, they were here not for a case involving them - the case they were viewing mattered so little to him he didn’t even know what crime the defendant had been accused of - but simply to prove they could enter to Sae. If they were able to get her attention, presumably through Makoto, it would unlock a cognitive barrier in her mind and a path to the center of her psyche might become feasible. Through that, his own life might be saved from an unceremonious end in the nearby jail. With all this, his stomach wouldn’t settle. Perhaps it was just a rule of society that people only ended up in courtrooms when so much was on the line.

Noticing his hand shaking, Hifumi put hers on top, stabilizing his hand. They didn’t speak, out of a sense of decorum for the room they were in, but Akira felt just a little calmer. People were looking out for him this time. Unlike last time, he wasn’t essentially alone. Hifumi had a knack for being able to show him that. The perks of dating someone on the same wavelengths as him. Still, once he was out of here, he wanted to stay out of courtrooms for as long as he could. This place was reminiscent of the worst parts of his life.

When Sae entered the room, arms full of files she would soon use to prove the guilt of someone, Makoto flagged her down. Sae seemed surprised to see them, but if Akira wasn’t aware of the cognitive world, he wouldn’t notice the subtle changes in her eyes - a small acknowledgment that her younger sister and her friends could enter into her place of work. As the group hurried out, Akira couldn’t help but think back to the cognitive world they were going to invade. Did Sae really believe the person she was about to prosecute was guilty, or was she merely going with the motions?

* * *

Just as they suspected, when they re-entered the Casino of Envy, the High Roller floor was now open to them. With a relatively simple change in the real world, they’d drastically shifted the cognition of Sae, leading them ever closer to their goals.

The high roller room was not the apex of the casino. Instead, they once again had to conquer a set of cognitive games presumably rigged in the favor of the house. These games seemed more akin to a carnival or fair than a casino, however. A battle arena for feats of strength, and a dark maze to lead them astray. Neither seemed like typical attractions at a casino, but perhaps these unfair trials were representative of the court system itself in Sae’s mind. So she realized too, somewhere deep down, that there was unfairness in the system. But she still had to win at it instead of changing it, because she felt it was too deep to be fixed…

“These new games look dangerous.” Ann said. “Should we go back and just play the lower floor games? It’s probably a lot safer, now that we have them rigged in our favor.”

Hifumi shook her head. “There’s no way we earn enough coins on the lower floors in time. We’d be there for days. Besides, if we won too often, any casino worth their salt would throw us out. It’s never okay for the customers at a casino to win that much.”

“Well, we’ll have to get these done. Futaba, are you able to scan the maze?” Akira said, weighing their options.

Futaba summoned Prometheus and tried to focus for a bit, but after a short while gave up. “It’s no good - I can’t find the layout of it.”

“We’ll have to get through somehow. Just stay on guard, we have no idea what they’re planning in here.” Akira led the group forward into the dark room. Inside, the sounds of Shadows echoed throughout the abyss.

As soon as they turned the first corner, the Thieves found themselves ambushed, surrounded by vicious monsters. Akira called out to his backline, begging for intel on the enemies they were fighting. “Star! What are we supposed to use to take these enemies down?” Akira blocked the first assault from the enemies with his knife. It wasn’t enough to brunt all of the impact, but it was better than being hit while open.

Hifumi summoned Mitsuhide and tried to divine the weakness of the enemy shadows, but it was no good. Without being able to focus on the shadow, she couldn’t gain anything from it. The darkness was stymieing her and her Persona entirely. Thinking on her feet, she shouted back to Akira. “I can’t see a thing! Can you describe the Shadows to me?”

Akira squinted, trying to get as best a description as he could despite the unfavorable conditions. “They appear to resemble some sort of golden, antique timepiece?” 

Hifumi let her mind dance with that description, trying to envision it and saying a silent prayer to Mitsuhide that that would be enough to glean something about their opponent. After a small, silent meditation, Mitsuhide lifted his sword into their air, and Hifumi shouted back. “I don’t think that enemy has any particular weakness, but you have to avoid wind and ice attacks!” She got a small jolt of energy, and finished with a flourish. “Perhaps utilize one of your famous rampaging physical strikes, General Joker?”

Armed with newfound knowledge, the group successfully managed to chart a course through the dark paths, though not without their frontline receiving a beating. A fair amount of their stamina was spent, but they had no choice but to soldier on. The Phantom Thieves had only half of the casino chips they needed, and now had to face down the battle arena.

A large shadow stood blocking the entrance of the battle arena, but it didn’t seem prepared for combat. Instead, it greeted the group with the practiced flim-flam of a carnival barker. “Welcome to our humble Casino’s most interesting attraction - the Battle Arena! Those confident enough to challenge our gauntlet shall be rewarded with riches beyond imagination. Care to take an attempt?”

“We’d love to.” Akira strode forward, but the Shadow put a hand in front to stop him.

“I regret to inform you that only _one_ of you can face the challenge. It’s not a co-operative experience, I’m afraid.” The Shadow’s raspy voice claimed.

“Well, if only one of us can go, it should be you, Joker.” Makoto said.

“He is the most versatile among us. It certainly makes a great deal of sense.” Yusuke agreed.

“Well, if this one is the one to face the challenge, the rest of you can watch from outside. Ah, except you.” The Shadow extended one barely formed finger to point at Hifumi. “We were keeping a close eye on your progress through the dark maze, and well, we saw that you were quite adept at strategy. We wouldn’t want something like that to affect our little challenge, so I must ask you to stay out of visual range from the contestant. It’s a matter of fairness, you understand.”

Hifumi had no choice but to accept this restriction, and paced outside the battle arena, waiting impatiently to see her beloved once again. Inside the arena, Akira fought by his lonesome, pushing his versatility to his advantage. After a flurry of sheets of ice, gales of wind, and intense attacks that pushed his body to its limits, he emerged from the arena the battered champion. He stumbled out of the arena, tens of thousands of coins richer and now able to afford access to the heart of the casino, but barely able to stand.

When he rejoined Hifumi, she almost bowled him over with the force she threw her arms around her boyfriend. “Ak- Joker!” She barely caught herself, following up her call with a long kiss. It was the most public she’d made her affection, but she didn’t care. “Are you okay?”

Akira smiled. “Never been better.” This was an obvious lie, but they still hadn’t reached the treasure. He had to keep up hope. “I was a little lost without your guidance, my star.”

“I’m just glad you’re okay. Suddenly the reality of mortality seems all the more real…” Hifumi’s voice faded off, and she hugged Akira tighter.

“Loathe as I am to interrupt such a pure moment of young love, I think we’d be better suited to continuing upwards?” Akechi placed a hand on Akira’s shoulder, gently breaking the two apart. Akira hated to admit it, but Akechi was right. They still had to press on. They couldn’t be far now.

There were few challenges left in the way. Before long, they found themselves before the now-familiar smoky cloud that would soon reveal itself to be the treasure. Yusuke handed off a calling card to Makoto, who would give it to her sister when she returned home. Tomorrow was it. They’d put their plan into motion.

That night, laying in bed, each of the Phantom Thieves got a notification from the group chat that excluded Akechi. Futaba had sent a short message. “Intercepted another call from Akechi. He’s mobilizing people for tomorrow. They’re falling totally into our trap. As long as you can get someone to look at your phone, Akira, everything will work out.”

Akira dismissed the notification. This was going to work. It had to. He sent out a private message to Hifumi. “If something goes wrong, I want you to know I love you more than anything.”

He would wake up the next day to a reply. “You’ve changed my life, Akira. I won’t let them take yours.”

* * *

The night prior, Sae Niijima was shaken to her core when her sister claimed she’d found a calling card from the Phantom Thieves. Now, her Shadow was facing off against the Phantom Thieves on a roulette wheel of her own cognition’s design. Akira spun the massive wheel, and the ball landed on a symbol of a lightning bolt.

From her perch above the wheel with the rest of the backline, Hifumi shouted out to Akira. “Even an inexperienced general such as yourself should know the meaning of this, General Joker!”

“I’m far from inexperienced in this world, my star, but I’ll do what I must.” Akira replied.

The battle against Sae Niijima was challenging, but not undefeatable. Akira knew they had no intention of actually stealing her treasure, but he still felt troubled by how even here, she seemed to rig the game. Perhaps she would change her heart of her own volition at some point?

The plan was all unfolding as they’d intended. Ann handed him a dummy briefcase, and Futaba noticed the incoming signals of the police Akechi had summoned. Akira volunteered to lead the police away from the rest of the group, and after one last quick kiss with Hifumi, he scurried away through the bowels of the casino.

When he exited onto a balcony above the main casino floor, he revealed himself above the crowd with a dramatic flourish. He was truly in his element, able to showboat and unleash his dramatic heart. A moment later, he flung himself out a stained glass window, landing on the ground with little grace.

Before he could stumble to his feet, he felt an impact to the side of his head, and the world went dark.


	24. Hazy Recollections

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the depths of the Tokyo Correctional Facility, Akira has to fight for his life without his Persona.

Akira’s mouth tasted like iron. He barely managed to force open his eyes for only a half-second. It was too painful to keep them open for any longer than that. For that brief second, all he could see was grey. His head was swimming, and he could make out voices around him - gruff, menacing, shouting. He couldn’t make out what they were actually saying, though. Was he dead? His head fell back onto something hard - a chair back, the concrete floor, something else? He couldn’t summon the energy to lift it up again. Every muscle in his body failed to move. The air itself must have weighed on him with a force of thousands of pounds. Another moment, and he couldn’t keep himself awake anymore, and he fell back into the darkness of unconsciousness.

Cold water jolted him awake. His eyes still couldn’t fully focus, but he was awake enough and the pain had dulled to the level where he could make out a group of imposing looking policemen, glaring down at him with a level of contempt he hadn’t seen since that night almost a year ago. Suddenly, the events of the last day started to fall into place in his mind, and he realized this was what their plan had intended. It turns out he couldn’t mentally prepare himself for something this shocking. Everything hurt a degree more than he expected, and his heart was racing. Still, it seemed likely that Sae would come to interrogate him soon. Assuming he was able to convince her to show Akechi the phone, all would be okay. If not… he didn’t want to think about that.

“You’re finally awake. Guess the drugs were too strong.” The apparent leader of the group of police stepped forward, tone and glare menacing the still-stunned Akira. 

Before Akira had fully composed himself, the policeman shoved a clipboard into his hands. The words on the page danced across the crisp letterhead, blurry to his watery eyes. Akira held in one shaky hand. He was barely able to hold on to it.

Apparently realizing Akira couldn’t make out the words on the page, he explained. “It’s a confession under your name. We’ve spoken with the prosecutor on the case extensively. You’ve got quite a rap sheet. Breaking and entering, conversion, blackmail… manslaughter?” His voice hung on that last word, uncertain about how dangerous of a suspect he was dealing with. After another moment of hesitation, he thrust a pen into Akira’s other hand. “Sign it.”

Akira’s hand shook as he lifted the pen to the confession. In any normal situation, he would refuse this immediately. Were this not planned, he would have gained nothing from giving up like this. But now, perhaps it was better to not give an excuse for anything to go wrong here. He didn’t want to risk their carefully laid plan going awry.

In just the few seconds he’d spent thinking, the policeman who had given him the confession had become irritated. “You know,” he said, venom on his tongue, “You’ll need your arms to sign this, but nobody’s gonna stop me from taking a leg.” He squeezed a forefinger and thumb hard into Akira’s leg, and searing pain shot up through his leg and torso.

That spurred Akira into action. He wanted to avoid as much permanent damage as possible during his short stay here, and besides, if their plan worked, that confession shouldn’t be relevant anyway. He scribbled “Akira Kurusu” onto the page and dropped in on the floor, falling back in exhaustion. The policeman picked it up with a scowl, obviously insulted by Akira’s petulance but satisfied enough in achieving his own goal he wasn’t willing to pitch a fit.

* * *

His mind still under the effects of the drugs the policemen had used, he wasn’t sure how long it was before anything else happened. Minutes? Hours? The policemen had returned to a silent vigil at the front of their room, seemingly uninterested in pressing him further. That status quo was broken by an argument, muffled but just barely audible through the thick steel door.

“Niijima-san, I’m afraid we can’t let you speak to him. We don’t know his methods - this could be extremely dangerous!” An unfamiliar, unpleasant voice said.

“I’m the prosecutor on the case, and you aren’t even going to let me question the suspect? This is ridiculous!” Another voice. This one, he recognized. Sae Niijima, and she sounded unhappy.

The unfamiliar voice sounded frustrated. “I’m sorry, Niijima-san. This comes from way above me.”

After a moment, the irritated prosecutor’s voice could be heard this time, but her conversation partner could not. “Chairman, this is absurd. I can’t even-” She was cut off. A silence, and then her relieved reply. “Okay. Thank you. I mean, I shouldn’t have to fight for this, but I’ll use my time as best I can.”  
A few more moments, and the guards shuffled out and Sae Niijima, the Phantom Thieves’ erstwhile target, strode in. Her heels clacked against the concrete floor, and she pulled up a chair to sit in front of Akira. Her stern face was intimidating, though his prior experiences had made it oddly relieving compared to the devil-may-care madness of her Shadow. 

“So, Akira Kurusu. Leader of the so-called Phantom Thieves. Or perhaps, the only member? I suppose we’ll see. I’m Sae Niijima, though I suspect you already know that.” She rummaged through a packet of files she was holding, laying them out on the table. “I want you to be honest with me. I don’t know how you did what you did. Frankly, if I hadn’t seen the results, I still wouldn’t believe it. Will you tell me the whole truth?”

Akira nodded, silently. He was still swaying back and forth slightly, and Sae noticed this.

“They used too many drugs again… I swear, these people only join up to be violent. I’m sorry, but we don’t have much time. Do the best you can.” Sae shuffled around a bit longer in her files, and pulled out a picture of their first target. “Suguru Kamoshida. This is where you began, right?”

“That’s right.” Akira replied. “He was a real scumbag.”

“Unprofessional as it is, I can’t help but agree. His crimes were reprehensible; but that doesn’t let you off the hook.” Sae’s face contorted as she scanned her eyes over Kamoshida’s confession. “What caused you to go after him, and what methods did you use?”

“I went after him because he was going after me and a friend, and I wasn’t going to let a second shitty adult ruin my life, let alone somebody else’s. Once we dug a little deeper, we found out how many people he’d actually been abusing, and then we truly had no choice. As for the method…” Akira looked down, eyes on his lap. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Hit me.” Sae had a pen on her notebook, ready to write. She looked skeptical, but willing to listen.

Akira sighed. She wouldn’t believe - no one would, if they hadn’t been to the Metaverse. Still, he had to convince her somehow. “We enter into another world, and change people’s hearts by stealing the impetus for their distorted desires. Kamoshida was the first we did this with.”

Sae smirked. “Well, you were right. I don’t believe you.” She kept writing attentively in her notes. “That being said, we have no records of your methods, and I have no idea why you’d lie in such an extravagant manner when there are so many easier ways to try and deceive me? Continue on, I’ll humor you, though I don’t expect you to convince me.”

Akira was frustrated, but he couldn’t say he was surprised. “Believe what you want. There’s no other way this could be done.” He paused, and Sae signaled for him to continue. “Anyway, once I found out about Kamoshida’s physical abuse of the athletes at Shujin and the sexual abuse of other students, I changed his heart.”

Sae raised an eyebrow. “You did this alone?”

Akira thought for a moment. Was it worth it to pretend to have worked alone? No, she probably wouldn’t buy it. He shook his head.

Sae smiled. “Yes, that matches up with what I thought. There’s no way you could have pulled this off without others. Next, you dealt with the artist Madarame, correct? He was engulfed in a plagiarism scandal earlier this year, and the Phantom Thieves are widely considered to be the instigators.”

“His heart changed, but even the public doesn’t know the worst of what he’s done.”

“Mhm. And this ‘change of heart’ was performed the same way? For similar reasons?”

“We met one of his pupils who he was stealing from.”

“I see.” Sae pulled out another piece of paper, circling something very dramatically and punctuating it with a few underlines. “Kaneshiro? Medjed? You also caused a minor stir in the shogi scene around this time?”

“We had close connections with people who were angry with Medjed. The shogi problem was caused by someone I happened upon who was being used by their mother. And Kaneshiro…” He had to address this carefully. The knowledge of Makoto’s involvement could convince Sae, or make her think he was just poking at nerves. “Was threatening students at Shujin with blackmail, up to and including the student council president.”

Sae’s face fell. “The student council president?” She was losing control of her voice, almost shouting now; a far cry from the reserved, in-control demeanor she’d expressed so far. “Makoto was involved in this?”

“That’s right. Without us, she would probably have been expelled from school.”

“You can’t be telling the truth! Makoto would never be involved in anything like this!” Sae was practically over the table at this point, shouting.

“You didn’t see any changes in her actions around that time?” Akira felt like he was in the driver’s seat of this conversation now. Practicing interpersonal communication at Crossroads was paying off handsomely.

Sae was silent for a moment, then put a hand on her forehead. “Alright. Continue. Now, the primary reason we’re here. Kunikazu Okumura.”

“We aren’t the reason he’s dead. The real culprit is the reason why, someone you have a deep connection with.”

“You’re saying someone else killed him?”

“The same person involved with all the mental shutdowns. You noticed his change, didn’t you?”

Sae looked truly disturbed at this point. “I… see. And then, your recent target. Me.” She slid the calling card Makoto had handed her across the table. “Why did you target me?”

“That’s also the result of the true culprit. He threatened to rat us out if we didn’t.”

“Mhm.” Sae was reaching the end of the page. “Before we’re finished, I want to read you a list of people we suspect to be your accomplices. In exchange for confirming this, I can try to get your sentence reduced. Can you confirm the Phantom Thieves include Ryuji Sakamoto, Ann Takamaki, Yusuke Kitagawa, Futaba Sakura, Haru Okumura, Hifumi Togo....” She swallowed, and continued. “And Makoto Niijima.”

Akira was stone-faced. “No. None of those people were involved.”

“Are you serious? That contradicts what you _just_ said! You know, very few people fit exactly the criteria you’ve described to me. Madarame didn’t have many pupils, and some of these instances were all over the news. It’ll be trivial to track them down.”

“I told you what I told you. You can believe me or not.”

Sae thought for another moment, then collected her files. “Well, thank you. I’ll be going now.”

Akira knew he had to move quickly. “Stop!” He focused intently on his phone on the table, unable to point due to the handcuffs. “You need to show that to the true culprit. You know who it is. It’s important.”

“Show the true culprit your phone? What on Earth?”

“Listen,” Akira’s tone was pleading. “Just trust me. You know I’m telling the truth. Nothing else could have caused all this. Show him the phone. I’m sure he’ll be here soon.”

Sae picked up the phone and left the room. Akira had nothing left to do but wait to see if his life would be spared or if he’d fall.

* * *

On the other side of Tokyo, Hifumi sat in a place she hadn’t spent time in for quite a while. The church in Kanda had once been her only refuge in a world that didn’t accept her, but since meeting Akira, she’d seen it less and less. Since joining the Thieves, she’d replaced it almost entirely with Leblanc and the warm, comforting embrace of Akira. Today, however, they’d decided to try to lay as low as possible to avoid suspicion.

She limply pushed pieces around her board. Nothing came to mind. She couldn’t focus. All she could think about was Akira, in the depths of a Tokyo jail, being interrogated, fighting with his words for his life and theirs. The king had somehow ended up deep in the enemy’s territory - but not all was lost. A few clever moves, a grand gambit, and he’d return triumphantly home to his awaiting kingdom. Then, surrounded by his loyal guard, he could launch a counterattack.

Still, victory was far from guaranteed. She’d certainly had many clever plans blow up in her own face. She felt lucky that shogi games didn’t cost her her life. She kept pushing pieces around, trying to plot out the king’s grand escape. She had full faith in Akira, but she felt a twinge of anxiety in her heart. Being apart from him with everything so uncertain did that to her now. That was the price of love.


	25. I've Missed You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A hero returns, battered, bruised, but alive, to the arms of his lover.

Sae Niijima’s mind was swirling. She wasn’t sure what she had expected when she interrogated the leader of the Phantom Thieves, but being told about a spectral other world wasn’t among them - even less so the fact that she was almost starting to believe him about something so preposterous. Furthermore, said leader of the Thieves had claimed that Akechi was the true killer of Kunikazu Okumura and told her to show Akechi his phone - and here Akechi was. If the leader of the Phantom Thieves didn’t at least know _something_ , he was quite fortuitous.

“What are you doing down here?” Sae said in shock to the young detective prince.

“Hm? Oh, I’ve been given command of this case. They must be quite impressed with my detective work.” Akechi smiled. “It is good to see you Sae, but I think the higher-ups must be concerned you’re getting too invested in this case.”

Sae looked down at the phone in her hand. Akechi _just happened_ to be down here, just as the suspect implied? Was Akechi truly the one at fault?

“Akechi-kun - could you take a look at this?” She held up the phone she’d taken from her suspect to Akechi. For a moment, everything seemed slightly out-of-place - and then it all snapped back to normal.

* * *

From a makeshift control room in a cloistered room in Yongen-Jaya, a quiet voice spoke clearly and quietly. In the hallways surrounding the interrogation room, that same voice left Akira’s phone, crackling and distorted beyond recognition to protect the identity of the speaker. Sae was rapt, listening to every word. Things had already been diverging from reality enough today - maybe this would lead her to the truth.

“I am the Phantom Thief Alibaba.” Futaba was putting every bit of imposing energy she had used when she first contacted the Phantom Thieves months ago into putting on a convincing show for Sae. “Goro Akechi is evil. He is the one responsible for the death of Okumura, and he has come to kill Akira Kurusu.”

Before Sae could respond, Futaba decisively pressed a button on her keyboard. The voice-masking vanished, and a clip she’d recorded from the intercepted cell signal of Akechi played through the phone instead.

“We’ll just make it so that he ‘commits suicide’ after stealing a guard’s gun. We’ll have to get rid of the guard too, of course. We don’t want any witnesses who could talk.” Akechi’s voice in the recording was completely bare of the princely affect he usually put into it. It was purely meticulous, cold, and to Sae, undeniably still Akechi.

“Please. You have to save him.” The voice modulation was turned back on, and Futaba was confident that recording would be enough to prove their justice to Sae.

The line clicked dead. Sae turned on her heels, no longer planning to leave the jail. After hearing what was clearly Akechi’s words, she knew what she had to do. A moment later, she accosted the guard outside Akira’s interrogation room.

“Excuse me. I need to come in. Akechi-kun called me, and he can’t make it. He’s asked me to deal with something here.” The guard prepared to protest, but Sae shot him a glare. “If you value your life, you should leave now.”

The guard did as he was told, and Sae was able to extract the accused Phantom Thieves leader from within the jail. Taking off his glasses and surrounding him with a coat, she was able to mask his identity enough to leave the building. She helped him into the backseat of her car, and headed off towards the one place she knew Akira should go.

* * *

The melancholic dirges of the church choir made it even more difficult for Hifumi to concentrate than it otherwise would be. The gut-wrenching wait for news about Akira was constantly weighing on her mind. There was nothing interesting to be found in her moves that night, nothing novel, nothing that would surprise any opponent. Perhaps it was better to pack it in and focus on something else.

One more piece of information was about to make the agonizing wait feel even longer. Her phone buzzed, notification signaling a breaking news alert. She gently placed the silver general she’d been fiddling with back in its place on the board and checked the article. There, she saw the words she knew on some level were coming, but still made her stomach sink.

“Officials from the Tokyo Metropolitan Correctional Department have announced that the alleged leader of the Phantom Thieves committed suicide in prison today after stealing a gun from a guard and killing him. The leader of the Phantom Thieves was accosted by police near the facility late last night.” A news anchor said matter-of-factly. “Police have been searching for this vigilante group for quite some time, but effort intensified after the death of Kunikazu Okumura last month, which authorities suspected was related.”

Hifumi dismissed the news stream. If everything worked out, this wouldn’t be a surprise - the whole plan relied on Akechi having thought he’d killed Akira. That said, this is also the same news they’d be hearing if something had gone wrong. Out of habit, she opened her chat app to ask the others if they’d heard news, then thought better of it. They weren’t sure if anyone was currently wiretapping their texts. They probably should have stopped using such a traceable method long ago, but it was too difficult to plan anything without it - still, they could go a day or two without using it.

She still couldn’t focus. She had to go do something to try to ease her mind. There was _one_ place she could go. A place where she had found focus and comfort in seemingly equal and endless measures as of late. A place she’d seen almost as a second home for the last few months. Sure, it had some connections to the case, but there was nothing illegal about getting a cup of coffee, right?

* * *

Sojiro was very aware that part of running a cafe was being in tune with your customers’ emotions. He’d never really cared much for it, preferring instead to stare off into the middle distance whenever some customer went on about their opinions on the news or of politics. Today, however, someone had come in whose emotion was immediately apparent. When Hifumi had walked in and asked for coffee in a shaky tone, he was able to piece together her nervousness and the fact that Akira still hadn’t returned home. He didn’t know the depth of what had happened yet, but he still realized something was amiss.

“Don’t worry. It’s on the house.” Sojiro slid a cup of his signature coffee across the counter. “Call it payment for keeping Akira out of trouble.”

Hifumi forced out a single, dry laugh. “I wish that were true.” She took a sip of her coffee. “Thank you. It’s delicious. I couldn’t focus on anything today.”

“Well, stay as long as you like.” Sojiro smiled, retreating to the tiny kitchen behind the counter to wash dishes.

Several hours and several more cups of coffee later, an extremely over caffeinated and jittery Hifumi saw Sae Niijima enter the door, Akira in tow. Akira was bruised and was being half-carried by Sae. Hifumi had taken up the mantle of supporting him within a second, wrapping herself around him and pulling him into a booth to sit.

“Oh thank God, you’re alright.” Hifumi pressed a kiss onto his lips. “I’ve been so worried today, I haven’t been able to focus on shogi or anything.” She buried her face into his chest. “I’m so glad this isn’t checkmate.”

Akira hugged back, still slightly dazed from the whirlwind of events he’d been through just the last few days. “Glad to see you again, my star. You should know from our battles I wouldn’t let the enemy triumph over me that easily.”

Sojiro was looking on with utter bafflement. “Wait. Hold on. What on Earth is happening?”

“We can explain in a moment. First, we should really get him some medical attention. Sakura-san, do you know if there’s anyone nearby who can take a look at him? I don’t want any further issues to crop up.”

Sojiro could barely stutter out a response. This was all hitting him very quickly. “There’s a clinic down the street. I’m not sure if they’re still open this late… I’ll give it a shot.” He half-ran out the door.

Hifumi was still entwined with Akira. “Do you feel okay? Are you in pain?” She stroked his face, gently fixing his skewed glasses.

Akira smirked, his overflowing confidence returning now that he was out of immediate mortal peril. With an amount of charm unbefitting his answer, he replied, “Oh God, yes. More than I ever have in my life.” He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the cushion of the seat. “But I lived, and we can finally take the fight back to whoever set all this up. More importantly, I can keep the rest of you all safe.”

Sojiro returned, bringing with him the local doctor Tae Takemi. Akira had known Takemi for some time now, and Akira knew she had her suspicions about him. Hopefully that meant she’d keep all this quiet. Still, when she saw the extent of Akira’s bruisings, she seemed quite concerned.

“Kurusu-kun, what on Earth happened?” Takemi’s eyes were wide. “This isn’t the result of any of the medicines I’ve given you to test, right?”

Akira smiled. “Oh, don’t worry, Doctor. Nothing like that. I can’t tell you what it is, though. Do you understand?”

Takemi sighed. “I’m practically an accomplice to your recklessness at this point based on the way you burn through my medicines. I suppose I have no moral high ground to judge you on. Here, let me take a closer look.”

Hifumi left Akira’s lap and he stood up. Takemi took a moment to inspect the bruising, then pressed into one of Akira’s muscles. After a yelp of pain, she moved on to his legs, then checked his pulse. For someone who looked like he’d just about been beaten to death, he was surprisingly healthy - though that had a far different meaning than healthy in the traditional sense.

“I can give you some painkillers to help deal with it, but I still can’t advise you do any sort of strenuous activity for two weeks, minimum.” Takemi said, jotting something down in her notebook. The gaze she got from Akira made it clear that wasn’t in the cards, so she pleaded. “Alright, can you give me at least two or three days where you don’t do something that’ll almost get you killed? It’s for your safety… and the integrity of our clinical trials.”

“I suppose. It’s not like I’ll have to go to school now, anyway.” Akira laughed, his breath hitching in his throat for a moment, turning it into a cough. “I can wait a few days, but not much longer.”

“Well, please let me know if you notice any changes. I’m not going to let my guinea pig die from… mysterious injury. I can’t force you, but you know where I’m at if you need medical attention.” Takemi nodded, face still slightly worried, and left Leblanc. 

Akira, now no longer under the spotlight, sunk back into a seat in the booth, next to his girlfriend who was still basking in the glow of his mostly safe return.

“I can stay with you and help out until you’re feeling better.” Hifumi cuddled up to Akira again. “You’ll need someone to take care of you, after all, and Sakura-san has a business to run.”

Akira’s face turned slightly red. “I’d appreciate that.”

“Wait. Hold on, I still don’t know what happened. Are you gonna explain this to me, Akira?” Sojiro was frustrated.

“I’ll explain what I know, Sakura-san. I think we should let those two go get some rest. Kurusu-kun definitely needs it, and Togo-san seems like she’s had a rough day as well. I know how exhausting worrying about your loved ones can be.” Sae said. With that, Hifumi gave Akira a shoulder to lean on as they ascended to Leblanc’s attic.

As soon as they reached the top of the stairs and entered his room, Akira almost immediately fell into bed. All the adrenaline had left his system at this point, and the twin effects of stress and pain were hitting him all at once. The call of slumber was almost unavoidable, but he tried summoning a final gasp of suavity. “Are you coming to bed, my star?” He stretched out an arm to suggest a cuddle, but his arm was entirely hanging off the bed. There was very little room.

Hifumi stood over him, inspecting his meager sleeping quarters. “It’s, um, a little small for two people. I think I might just sleep on the sofa, if that’s okay?”

“Mmm, but you’re the guest. You should have the more comfortable place to sleep.” Despite his protestations, Akira’s voice was slowly becoming more muddled, and his eyes were shut.

“You’re the one who’s hurt, you adorable fool. Get rest.” She pressed a kiss into his forehead, and pulled his covers over him. Within another moment, she could hear his quiet breathing fall into a steady rhythm. Focusing on her boyfriend’s calming pattern of breathing, she laid on the sofa, draped herself with one of Akira’s uniform jackets as a cover, and let the unbearable anxiety of recent days fade away into sleep. At least for now, Akira was safe and so was she.


	26. Helping Hands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The public talks, and the lovers endure as Akira recovers from his injuries, much as he'd rather just get it over with.

Hifumi woke up to the soft pastel light of dawn barely shining through Akira’s dusty windows to the outside world. Orange light shone onto her boyfriend, who was still fast asleep. His sleeping face had a serenity to it. She wondered how long it had been since he’d last slept this peacefully. Days, at the minimum; that’s how long they’d been executing this plan. With how seriously he took the lives of his friends and how uncertain everything was until now, it might have been weeks. Akira wasn’t going to go to class, after all, he was technically supposed to be dead right now. The media wouldn’t identify the public, so he might not be recognized, but Shujin would certainly have some contacts that would notify the police if he was listed in the attendance logs.

Unfortunately, while Akira got to sleep his day away skipping school, Hifumi had no such luxury. Kosei was still in session, and even though she was fairly confident she could ace her exams even if she missed a day or three, she didn’t want to attract further suspicion by skipping school. She took a second to straighten out her uniform that had been wrinkled by sleep. It wasn’t enough to make it look ironed, but it was presentable enough. She no longer had to fear media appearances, anyway.

Hifumi gently kissed Akira’s forehead. He rolled slightly in his sleep, hand clutching his blankets to his chest. He grumbled slightly, but he didn’t wake. Hifumi smiled. Akira needed all the rest he could get after what he’d been through. She had no more time to wait. She was quite a ways from Kosei, and the morning wouldn’t be young forever. She left Leblanc, which still hadn’t opened, and headed to class, dreading pretending like everything was normal when it was far from it, but excited to spend more time with her safe and sound boyfriend.

* * *

Any hopes Hifumi had of living through the day as normal was dashed not five minutes into the morning. The entire school population was talking about the Phantom Thieves. She realized then how foolish she’d been to think it wouldn’t be. An unusual strategic error, but one that luckily caused her very little actual consequences. She just had to keep her mouth shut, try to block it out, and try not to focus on everyone’s opinions on whether he had deserved it, whether he was even real, whether it was just something the government was drumming up to bolster their falling acceptance rates.

Every time she heard a classmate gossip about something and they’d put that level of venom on that little word, it stung. She wanted to get in their face, break her reputation as the quiet, demure eccentric and shout at them, let them know that he was not a criminal. He was a lovely person who cared more about his friends than himself, even when it wasn’t the easiest path for him. He cared about justice and truth, no matter who or what was going to stand in his way. He was the best person to cuddle up with when everything in the world felt like it was falling apart and you just needed someone to hold you and tether you to reality. _He was the best person to dream about and to fantasize about their life together_ , she thought, though no version of her speech would end with her actually uttering those words aloud.

Of course, she couldn’t do that. At worst, it would jeopardize everything and ruin their entire delicate planning. At best, she’d be thought of even more as an outcast. Either way, she instead just gritted her teeth and tried to block out the talk of the Phantom Thieves. She wasn’t particularly popular, so that wasn’t too difficult. Just focus on the work, focus on studying, focus on her mental image of the adorable boy who was likely still sleeping on a humble bed in Leblanc.  
Lunch offered a brief reprieve from the constant chatter about her otherworldly profession’s reported end. After a brief foray to the school store to purchase some yakisoba pan, she was able to steal away to the rooftop. It was mostly deserted, thanks to the chill weather of winter making it inhospitable, but she was glad to finally find a place where she could sit alone, away from the crowds. She lost herself for a moment in the scenery. There was something so charming about the view from up here. Maybe she could bring Akira here one day?

A familiar voice snapped her out of it. “Ah, I thought I might find you up here.” Yusuke’s cool, collected baritone was unmistakable. 

“Oh, hello, Yusuke.” Hifumi turned, leaning up against the small walls that surrounded the rooftops. She considered sitting on them, but with the wind as it was, a small breeze could topple her off, and she’d had enough precarities for one week. “I had to come up here to get away from it all. The things they’re saying make my blood boil.”

Yusuke nodded. “I feel similarly. It is difficult to conceal the truth when you know it to be so disconnected from the public view.” He shook his head. “Have you heard if Akira is doing alright? The last thing we heard from him was yesterday, and all he said was that he survived.”

“He’s doing okay.” Hifumi smiled. “He’s beat up, but he’ll be alright after some rest. I’m staying over with him for the next few days to make sure he doesn’t overexert himself. Oh, I should probably let the group know. Sorry.” She pulled out her phone and started tapping out a message to the group chat.

“It’s understandable. We’ve all been nervous recently, but I’m sure it’s been hitting you very hard. The passion you and Akira share for each other is undeniable. I wish that I could capture such intense emotion in my work!”

“Much as your art is lovely, Yusuke, I feel like I have had enough modeling for one lifetime.” Hifumi giggled. “Have you eaten? Would you like some of my yakisoba?”

“You’re too kind.” Yusuke took a small portion of the noodle-stuffed bread, and the two continued to endure the cold weather of the Kosei rooftops as Hifumi checked the group chat. Haru and Ann both had already sent responses.

“Thank you for the update. I am glad he is well!” Haru had replied.

Ann was next. “That’s good! But oooooh, staying over at his place? I had no idea things were so serious!” A winking emoticon was attached.

Hifumi suddenly felt a rush of embarrassment. “No, it’s not like that!” She replied, regretting her sloppy wording immediately.

* * *

Once she was free from class, Hifumi made a few stops on the way to Leblanc. By the time she reached the Yongen-Jaya cafe, she was carrying a duffel bag on one shoulder and a paper bag in her other hand. The bell on the door chimed as she entered, and she nodded to Sojiro, who was busy running the cafe. For once, there were actually customers in the cafe, and she didn’t want to get in the way of anything, so she hurriedly ascended the stairs to the attic hideout.

Akira was awake now, still in bed but sitting up and petting Morgana, who seemed to be relaxed despite his frequent protestations about not being a cat. Akira was still in his pajamas, and his hair was messier than usual - it didn’t seem like he had been out of bed today. Still, he seemed much more put together than he had yesterday. Sleep had done well for him, evidently.

“Good morning!” Akira smiled. He brushed a hand through his hair, evidently trying to make it seem a little more presentable. That was a total failure.

Hifumi checked her phone, laughing. “It’s 4 p.m., Akira.”

“Yeah, but I just woke up like… thirty minutes ago.” Akira winked. He was feeling energetic enough to dial his joking, flirty personality back up. They were far from out of the woods, but the direct threats were eased for a moment. He could relax a little. He yawned, stretching out his arms to the sky. “How was class?”

“Ugh. Intolerable, impossible to focus. But that’s not a big deal. Are you doing okay? Do you still hurt?” Hifumi threw the duffel bag onto the sofa. She’d swung by her house on the way here from Kosei, and the bag contained the kinds of things she’d need to stay over for a few days - a few extra uniforms, her own pajamas, and a real duvet and pillow so she wouldn’t have to suffer in the chill of the drafty attic with just a jacket. Plus, she had her shogi board, in case Akira wanted to play.

“Oh, I might actually hurt worse than yesterday.” Akira said. “But it’s less sharp, it’s more just aches. I’m sure it’ll ease off in a few days.” He fell back onto his bed, disturbing Morgana, who scampered off to the shelf nearby.

“Well, I brought you something.” Hifumi handed Akira the paper bag. “I didn’t expect you’d have the energy to cook, and I’m sure you’re probably tired of Leblanc’s curry at this point, so I picked you up some Big Bang Burger. Sorry it’s not anything fancier, but-” Hifumi cut herself off when she saw Akira’s face.

Akira’s eyes lit up and he quickly tore into a hamburger. “Hifumi, it’s been so long since I’ve had fast food trash, you’re the best.” In between bites, he clarified, “Not trash in a bad way. I just need something simple. Did I tell you I’m a captain of the Big Bang Burger challenge?”

“That doesn’t surprise me. You seem to excel at anything you put your mind to.” She winked at him. “Except shogi, of course.”

Akira playfully glared at her. “I’m going to defeat you, once I get some more time to practice.”

Morgana interrupted, plaintively begging from the floor. “Did you bring me anything? Did you get me sushi?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Morgana. I don’t think Big Bang Burger sells sushi.” Hifumi replied, apologetically.

“I don’t think you’d want their sushi even if they did sell it.” Akira said, mouth full.

Morgana grumbled and returned to his post on the shelf, trying to find warmth in the sun. Akira had finished eating, and was now sitting up again, energy boosted.

“So, have we heard anything from our associates about who the people Akechi was working for are?” Akira was once again laser focused on the Phantom Thieves’ ultimate goal, not 48 hours out of prison.

“Nope.” Hifumi kissed his forehead. “I’m not letting you obsess over this yet. You’d be dedicated to dealing with it and you haven’t healed yet. It’s admirable, but it’s reckless. Once you heal, we’ll go deal with it.” She spoke quietly, caring but firm. “I know it’s worrying, but you aren’t going to be able to take down the people controlling this conspiracy when you can’t get out of bed.”

“I’m mad that you’re right, but you’re right.” Akira returned the kiss. “I’ll give it some time. I don’t want to be reckless anymore and make my friends worry; at least not when I don’t have to. Do you want to watch a movie or something then?”

“I’d like that very much. Do you want me to set something up on your laptop?” She pointed to the computer left on Akira’s workbench, seemingly set up perfectly for viewing from his bed.

“You can try?” Akira sounded unsure.

When Hifumi tried turning it on, a strange jingle came out of the speakers. It seemed to open up to some kind of shopping site. When she tried to switch the website, it refused.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought. I think it’s broken, I need Futaba to take a look at it. That said, that site’s pretty useful! You never know what comes in handy in the Metaverse.” Akira said.

Hifumi shut down the laptop and went to examine the television Akira had on the desk nearby. Less convenient to watch, but hopefully uninfested with commodity-hawking viruses. “Does your DVD player work?”

“It should.” Akira shrugged. Uncertainty was the price of getting all your electronics second-hand and repairing them yourself.

Hifumi took her duffel bag downstairs to the bathroom and changed into her sleep clothes, then returned up to cuddle up with Akira. The two had to cling close to each other to stay on the bed, but they were able to find peace in the glow of a TV playing whatever DVD Akira hadn’t had time to return to the store yet. As the night progressed, Akira stole a few kisses before again falling to sleep far earlier than he usually did. Hifumi responded with a kiss on his sleeping forehead before retiring to her own, now much more comfortable, couch. Tomorrow was Sunday, they’d have the day off, and they could relax a little longer before going back into the fray. After all, this seemed to go deep into the government. Their next mission promised to be the most fraught yet.


	27. Sunset Bridge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira's better enough to walk around (or at least he claims he is), and he wants to show off his love.

Hifumi opened her eyes the next morning to the distinct smells of coffee and curry. Had she overslept? No, she realized, eyes barely fluttering open. Unlike yesterday, dawn hadn’t even broken. The darkness of the sky indicated it was still very early - far too early for Leblanc to be open. This must be some kind of dream, right? She should fall back to sleep. Nothing good happened this early in the morning. Before she lost herself in the darkness again, she forced her eyes open once more to steal a glance at her boyfriend. He wasn’t there.  
Before Hifumi even had the time to worry about his whereabouts, Akira was standing above her makeshift sleeping post. He was wearing an apron over his pajamas. The mismatch, combined with his naturally messy hair being even more tousled, shot an arrow right into Hifumi’s heart. She’d seen him in his Leblanc getup a few times while visiting the cafe, but the cozy domestic feeling of his current outfit was extremely cute, amplified by the floaty dreamlike atmosphere of early morning and having just woken.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Did I wake you?” Akira spoke softly, barely above a whisper. His brow was furrowed, his face reflecting his genuine concern.

“Are you… okay to be up?” Hifumi’s words were inartful and clumsy, her bleary eyes looking up at her boyfriend who was remarkably energetic given recent events.

“Don’t worry about me. You should get back to sleep. Breakfast will be done soon.” Akira blew her a kiss, and she fell back asleep.

A little while later - she couldn’t tell how long, but the sun was starting to come up now - a spate of gentle, then not-so-gentle nudges woke her back up. Akira had pulled the table in his room up to the sofa, and placed his culinary artistry in front of his sleeping girlfriend.

“Good morning, my sleepy star.” Akira winked. “I made us breakfast. Sorry if you’re not into curry, it’s pretty much all I can make.”

This time, Hifumi had the energy to sit up and firmly ask the obvious question that she had tried to express in her sleep-addled haze. “You’ve been up cooking? How long? Are you feeling okay?” She couldn’t eat without knowing he was okay, and he was exerting himself significantly compared to before.

“Oh, I’ve still got some aches, but I’m able to get up today. Getting beat up in the Metaverse so much has made me able to handle a little bit of pain. I was bored laying in bed.” Akira smiled, looking serene, sipping his own cup of coffee.

Hifumi shot a glare across the table. “Do you promise? You’re really going to be okay walking around this soon?”

Akira put his hand on his heart in an overdramatic show of sincerity. “I promise, Hifumi. I won’t do anything too crazy. I’ll be alright.” 

Hifumi softened, sated enough in her boyfriend’s safety to start eating. The curry was top quality, as Leblanc’s always was, but this particular batch had a depth of flavor she wasn’t used to experiencing. It was good, just unusual.

“I added some ingredients I don’t usually use to try to add a little spice. This has some chocolate in it! It’s supposed to bring out the spice.” Akira explained. “I hope you like it. It’s special, for you.” _And only for you_ , he tried to silently express in the final line, though the similarly unstated follow-up of _because Sojiro wouldn’t dare let me try out something new on his customers was far less romantic._

“It’s good.” Hifumi replied. “I’m always happy to eat your curry, though I’m sure you could cook other things if you committed to it. You’re somewhat of a polymath, after all. Few people I’ve met are skilled in cooking and otherworldly combat.”

“Well, if you ask, I suppose I can try to expand my horizons. Wouldn’t want you to be disappointed, after all.” He blew another kiss. “So, it’s Sunday. Can I take you on a date, my star?” His words were dripping with an affected royal tone, but beyond his overwhelming flirtatiousness he was quite serious.

Hifumi pondered for a moment. “Will it be okay for you to go out? Beyond just the injuries, what if someone who was in on the conspiracy saw you out and about? I don’t want you to be reckless. We’ve already come close enough once recently.”

Akira jumped up in excitement. “I thought you might ask about that. I don’t want to be reckless either, so I have a plan. This was a brilliant idea I had while I was making us breakfast.” He whirled around, collecting a few things from a shelf and hastily assembling them. When he turned around again, he was dressed in a winter coat and wearing a scarf that didn’t completely hide his identity, but certainly made its discovery less likely. “What do you think?”

Hifumi couldn’t hold in a laugh. Piling on extra layers of clothes on top of his pajamas had made him look like he’d fallen face first into his closet. His pride at such a masterful plan made it even more absurd. “I suppose that’ll work, if you put on actual clothes underneath.”

“Great!” Akira was beaming, scarf half-covering his face. “Well, finish up breakfast first. I know a place we should visit. There’s still a lot of risk in this whole Phantom Thief business. If something were to happen, I wanna make every day as special as I can until then.” A moment later, he appended. “Well, not that I won’t make every day as special as I can if we make it out the other side of this.”

* * *

The smell of salt hung in the air along the Rainbow Bridge. The sounds of distant birds one might hear during summer were conspicuously absent due to the chilly winter weather. Hifumi walked hand in hand with Akira, her smart, sleek red coat clashing against her boyfriend’s mish-mash of identity obscuring clothing. Still, it seemed to be working - while Akira got the odd sideways glance at his strange appearance, they hardly lasted, and no roving policemen had descended upon their entirely normal looking date.

“It’s sad that everything’s so cold now… if this were a few months earlier, everything would be much more pleasant.” Hifumi surveyed the small bit of the island they could see from the bridge. The seasons had taken the leaves off of the trees, and romantic dreams of snow were dashed, the only ice visible a thin layer of frost along the metal handrails.

“I’m not bothered by the cold. In fact, it’s maybe a little too warm.” Akira said, voice muffled by the scarf he was wearing.

“Of course you aren’t, you’re wearing so many layers your fashion would be more fit for Harajuku than here.” Hifumi replied.

Akira shot her a tongue-in-cheek glare. “Anyway, we spent the summer in Hawaii together. That’s like, the most romantic thing possible.”

“We weren’t dating then, Akira. We just both wanted to.” Hifumi giggled.

“It doesn’t count retroactively?” Akira sounded mischievous. He always loved teasing his friends, his girlfriend especially. “Well, I suppose we’ll have to go back sometime.”

“I don’t think we make enough from Mementos to afford that, sweetheart.”

“Well, just wait until I’m a world-famous chef, I’ll take you anywhere you want!”

The two continued their stroll into Odaiba proper. The heart of the island was beating, a wave of people bundled up to walk past towering buildings and construction sites soon to be replaced with stadiums. For the first time in a short while, the two felt almost normal. They were together, they were happy, and as long as one ignored Akira being forced to hide his identity and occasionally wincing slightly if he put his weight on his leg improperly, they were free from the burdens that Phantom Thievery placed on them.

After a quick stop at a takoyaki stand for a late lunch, Akira led their path out to a small clearing on the seaside. The afternoon sun that would promise an overbearing heat in summer instead now provided no succor from the bone chilling air. Waves rhythmically crashed against the coast. They were light, foamy, and failed to make it over the walls that had been erected to stop passersby from falling in. Still, they had an impact. Eventually, they’d wear away the coast. Akira hoped even after the sweeping changes they could enact as the Phantom Thieves were no longer possible, he could continue to change the world like that, even in small ways.

“It’s really beautiful out here.” Hifumi said, gazing over the sea and back toward the rest of Tokyo. The two had found a bench there and were letting themselves relax.

“Mmm.” Akira made a noise that was halfway between an agreement and a simple hum. “I wanted to sync everything up so that I could give you the nice speech I was planning as the lights came on on the bridge, but we’re too early…” He was disappointed. “Do you think we can wait here until then? It would be so cool.”

Hifumi leaned over into Akira’s lap, brushing his scarf to the side and putting a finger on his chin. “You’re so dramatic, Akira…”

Akira’s face was beet red. “Like you can talk, miss Queen of the Togo Kingdom.”

“Touche.” Hifumi kissed Akira right on the lips, pulling him into her embrace. A moment later, she pulled away, drinking in the look from his lovestruck eyes. “Alright, we can wait for you to have your moment. I always want for you to put on a show.”

The two cuddled close in the cold, Akira wrapping his scarf around the both of them. The peaceful atmosphere of the seaside blanketed them, and the wind whisked away the light and ushered in the gloam sooner than they realized. Akira’s eyes were watering from a combination of high emotions and dry air as he looked up to the now alight Rainbow Bridge, prismatic colors shining down from the entrance to Odaiba.

“I just wanted to thank you, Hifumi. When I got out of the interrogation, I was worried nothing would ever be the same. I guess in a way, it wasn’t, but you helped me get back on my feet.” Akira sounded like he was about to cry. “I love you. I know I’ve said it before, but I want to say it again. I want to say it every day. You deserve it.” Nearly bursting into tears from high emotions, he fell into Hifumi’s awaiting arms.

“You deserve it too, Akira. You’re the sweetest person I’ve ever met. I’m happy to pick you up any time you need it.” She had her arms wrapped around him, hands running through the hair of her bawling boyfriend. “I love you.”

“Thanks for dealing with my recklessness, and my strange personality.” He wiped the tears from his eyes on her shoulder. “I never realized how much I loved waking up next to someone until I stayed the night at your house all that time ago.”

“I could certainly get used to it. Being able to rest my head on your chest is quite convenient, though we’d need to stay in a larger bed than yours at Leblanc.” She smiled back. “And you deal with my outbursts during shogi, so I’m happy to accommodate your flirtatiousness, you dork. I think it’s adorable.”

The two shared another passionate kiss, this one lasting much longer. From there, they headed back to Leblanc, Hifumi deciding she could spend one more night there. On the way back, they had to let the aura of romance fade slightly, texting the group chat and asking them to meet the next day after class. The path to ten thousand more peaceful mornings waking up together led through destroying the conspiracy they were up against.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to thank everyone for sticking with me on this fic. It's ended up waaaay longer than anything I've ever done before, but I'm still having a lot of fun with it, especially as we get closer to the Royal content. :)


	28. The Threads Unravel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The grand conspiracy is slowly coming apart - all the Thieves have to do is pull. At the end of the night, Hifumi has a sudden awakening.

The election campaigns were reaching a fever pitch. Even the relatively sleepy area of Yongen-Jaya was blanketed in vans spewing out propaganda and men holding signs proclaiming that their candidate would save their country. The Phantom Thieves had supposedly been defeated, but their name was still present on the tip of the tongue of every incumbent and aspiring member of the Diet - their plan to prevent such an unruly group from appearing again, or their intention to bring justice to the iniquities they had revealed, or their castigation of the government who had led the country into a state of vigilantism. The odd conspiracy theorist was even willing to claim that the Phantom Thieves were not defeated or dead, merely in hiding. They didn’t know how right they were.

Akira and Hifumi had enjoyed the last of their nights together for the present moment, and now Hifumi was back off to class while Akira was still sheltering at Leblanc, helping out Sojiro in any way he could as long as he wasn’t long exposed to the public eye. The few customers that trickled in throughout the day all had comments on the political situation, but Sojiro and Akira both were practiced at ignoring the ramblings of customers about current events. Sojiro made do with a stare off into space and a half-apology for not paying attention to politics; Akira instead just became hyper focused on his work, scrubbing dishes and stirring curry pots as if he were some sort of kitchen automaton.

As the work day wore on and the lunch rush came and went, Akira’s phone was blowing up. The relative obscurity of Leblanc meant that even during the peak hours, Akira had the time to occasionally read the text messaged plots of his fellow rogues. The group chat was abuzz with the knowledge that Akira was healed enough for a Thieves meeting already, and several of the Thieves intimated that their plan of searching Akechi’s calls for information about the mastermind of the conspiracy had borne fruit. They were to meet that evening, and finalize the plans for what might be their last job.

As the only customer in the shop left after a lull in business, Akira turned to Sojiro. “Do you think you could close up early? We need to use the store.” He was direct, to the point, and deadly serious.

Sojiro understood. “I’ll start closing up now. Can you flip the sign for me?” Sojiro watched as his ward did as instructed. “You know…” Sojiro was uncertain. “I warned you before that you were going up against some scary people. I worked in the government for a while. I know what these people can do.”

Akira hung his head. “Sorry for bringing more trouble into your life.”

Sojiro smiled. “No, no, not like that. I may not fully understand the details of what you’re doing, but if you’re willing to work this hard for it, well… after all I’ve seen this year, I trust you. I thought helping Futaba was a lost cause, but you really did something. I’ve got your back.” His face shifted, a little more serious though no less earnest. “Just remember people with this much power will stop at nothing. Don’t expect you can hide from them forever.”

Akira knew this, but it still felt ominous to have it confirmed by someone with ambiguous ties to some of the institutions he was up against. He nodded. “I know. I’m fully committed. All my friends, even you… I’m sick of the abuses. I want to change the world.”

“All right. I’ll get out of your hair then. You guys need anything, I’m at my house a block down, just let me know. Just promise to clean up the store once you’re done, I still have a business to run.” With a smirk, Sojiro left the cafe, and Akira had a small amount of solitude before the most important meeting of the Phantom Thieves yet.

* * *

As the members of the Phantom Thieves assembled one by one, Akira was unprepared for the outpouring of genuine affection and relief the group was giving him. Ryuji was particularly pleased to see Akira had mostly recovered, patting him on the shoulder as soon as he entered Leblanc. Hifumi, breaking through her bashfulness, even gave him a quick kiss when she arrived. Slightly embarrassed, Akira was otherwise very happy to be back in the driver’s seat of thievery, and even more so to see how much his friends truly cared for him. Still, he had little time to bask in that joy.

When he slid into a booth, surrounded by his friends and tempted by the events of the last few days to cuddle up with Hifumi but for the sake of public decency resisting the call, the worry on the face of his teammates was evident. Once again, he had to take the lead. “Sorry for making you all wait. Let’s get back to business.” He replied, summoning the confidence he hadn’t needed for some days now.

Ann spoke up, doubtful. “You’re really okay? I know you’re not one to want to rest on your laurels for too long, Akira.”

Akira raised one hand, invoking the trappings of an oath ceremony. “Swear to my bones. I promised Morgana and Hifumi both I’d stop being so reckless.”

Makoto jumped into the conversation. “Well, if we’re certain you’re in a state to explore the Metaverse, we have some very important news. We believe we’ve discovered the person behind Akechi’s murders. Sorry for not getting you in the loop sooner, but we wanted to make sure, and we didn’t want to interrupt your recovery.”

Just as they had before Sae’s heist, Futaba played another recorded phone call from Akechi’s phone. The same voice they’d heard in the earlier phone calls was still there, sounding just as cold and calculating as before.

“You’re absolutely certain you’ve killed the leader of the Phantom Thieves? The election is coming up, you know. I don’t want any little brats to interfere with my plans.”

Akechi’s smooth as silk, haughty, true voice replied. “Oh, don’t worry, Shido-san. I watched their leader’s life drain from his eyes. It was quick and efficient. We’ll deal with the underlings after the election, so as not to raise suspicions.”

The voices continued their conversation in the recording, but when he heard that name he dissociated from the real world. He was dazed, and memories from across the last year started dancing across his mind, each falling into place. The man who was rude to Ryuji at the buffet right after their first successful change of heart. The same voice, talking to Akechi and making plans before they were attacked in Sae’s palace. The drunk, stumbling rage of a man trying to coerce a woman into sex, and who sued Akira after being stopped. He knew that name. He finally recognized that voice.

Hifumi had a hand on his shoulder, gripping him tight as he faded back into reality. “Are you all right?” She was slightly panicked, trying to help relieve Akira’s nerves. The rest of the Thieves eyes were wide, showing their similar concern for their shocked leader.

Akira spoke barely above a whisper. “That’s the man who took me to court a year ago. He’s the one who ruined my life because I stopped him from committing a crime.”

The rest of the Thieves sat in stunned silence. They knew they were going up against forces they weren’t expecting, but they weren’t expecting the mastermind to have had such a direct impact on one of their member’s lives on such a fundamental level. Hifumi put an arm around Akira, pulling him closer. He was shaking - not a lot, but a noticeable trembling, the same she’d noticed at the courthouse.

Haru spoke quietly. “I’ve heard of him. That’s Masayoshi Shido. He’s running for the Diet. If his party wins a lot of seats, he’s widely expected to become Prime Minister.”

“I’ve heard his speeches all around Tokyo.” Yusuke added. “He seems to have an extreme level of popularity among the public. I can’t believe he’s involved in something so evil.”

“He’s been campaigning against the incompetence of the current government. It turns out that he’s been the one behind all of the problems, and he’s been killing people to do it.” Makoto said matter-of-factly.

“W-well. If everyone’s in agreement, shall we declare Masayoshi Shido our next target?” Akira took the lead of the conversation, but his voice was noticeably shaky. He had hoped to never have to deal with that man again. It was serendipitous to be given a chance to get his revenge, but the thought of having to deal with this man again made him terrified. He saw the kind of power Shido had at his disposal to destroy someone who crossed him. That said, his friends were with him. More importantly, their lives were in danger too. He had no choice but to fight, no matter how petrified it made him feel.

With a collection of nods from the group and a determined cry from Morgana, their target was set. Next was the matter of finding his palace. It seemed impossible for a man with such dark desires not to have one, after all.

“While you were resting, the rest of us were researching the keywords.” Futaba said, confirming Akira’s suspicion that a palace must exist. “We know the location is the Diet Building, but we aren’t sure what the distortion is.”

“Well, tomorrow after everyone’s out of class we can go and try to figure it out. We’ll have to be careful, though. Security is sure to be even tighter there than it was around the Okumura Foods building.” Akira had to be a good leader. He had to keep himself together. He had to.

With a little more idle chatter, the rest of the group shuffled out of Leblanc, mentally preparing for their next heist. Hifumi stayed behind, her arm still firmly wrapped around Akira, who had collapsed into her lap after he no longer had to keep up appearances. She stroked his hair. “Don’t worry. We’re going to be okay. We can do this.”

Akira didn’t reply with words, but further cuddled up to Hifumi. He had been feeling very good off of recovery only to be smacked down by reality. He had to face his fears, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t experience the fear.

Hifumi kept running her fingers through his hair. “I’ll be right by your side the whole time. We can take over the board. Use all our captured pieces… and deliver a checkmate. Together. You don’t need to fear.” Hifumi wasn’t as confident as she portrayed outwardly, but no battles were ever won by showing doubt. “I’ll always be with you.”

Just as Akira had a bit earlier, Hifumi felt her senses dull a moment, the world briefly fading away. A moment later, she heard a voice that she had become used to hearing. In her mind, her Persona Mitsuhide spoke to her.

“You’ve formed quite a bond. You’ve taken your betrayal of your assigned role in society all the way up to challenging society itself. Are you ready to awaken to your true power?” Mitsuhide’s words echoed in her head, and she nodded. At least, she thought she did. She wasn’t quite sure what attachment she had to reality at the moment.

Mitsuhide whirled around, and a new being appeared in its place - an azure demon with outstretched wings. “I am Lucifer, the symbol of ultimate betrayal. I am thou; and thou art I.” The next moment, everything faded back into reality. Akira was still in her lap. It seemed no time had passed in reality while her Persona spoke to her. Much as she would have liked to stay with Akira another night, her energy was fading and a second awakening hadn’t helped. With one last hug, she helped Akira up to his bed then headed for her home. She felt a renewed commitment. She was going to help destroy the person who had tried ruining her love’s life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading as always, everyone. I'm having a little bit of a shaky period mental health-wise, but I'm still planning to keep my update schedule - but if it does happen to get knocked off course a little, that's why. That said, I don't think it'll cause an issue, just wanted to let people know. Hope you enjoyed today's chapter.


	29. Ship of Fools

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What seems to be the ultimate heist for the Phantom Thieves begins, with an unexpected guest coming in at the end.

Akira hadn’t realized how difficult it would be to try to blend into the crowd around the Diet Building as a group of sketchy-looking young people, especially when he was still making an attempt to hide his identity. With an election near, few of the legislators were physically present there, but that hadn’t caused security to calm down even a bit. Akira wasn’t sure if this was standard procedure, or if these were Shido’s goons sent to consolidate power even before an election. That seemed too conspiratorial, but Shido had orchestrated a plan with extremely vast reaching impact. He had to at least consider it; if he had been more paranoid in the past, he probably could have prevented Akechi from getting information on them.

With their cellphones out, the collected Thieves were whispering as many locations as they could think of to the Metaverse Navigator, only to be replied to with its cold, impassioned refusal to enter the destination.

“A villa? A chateau?” Haru asked her copy of the Navigator.

“A Greek agora?” Yusuke pleaded with his.

“A shogunate’s palace?” Hifumi similarly requested.

Despite their fervent attempts, all that their smartphones uttered was the singular, robotic, “Conditions have not been met.” It was frustrating, their hopes were wearing thin, and worst of all, some men in dark suits were beginning to eye them and speak into their walkie-talkies. They were running out of time.

“Shit.” Ryuji swore under his breath after glancing up at the guards. “Does anyone have any ideas to take the heat off of us? I really don’t wanna get caught.”

Akira snapped his fingers a few times, desperately searching his mind for a solution. After a moment, he blurted out, “Can we pretend to be in the newspaper club or something, doing research for our school’s paper? Who among us looks the most like a newspaper club member?”

All eyes turned to Makoto, who despite the looming feeling of typecasting she felt, couldn’t disagree. “I suppose I can try that. I’ll even see if I can get any information about Shido from them. They’re just guards, but they may know something about him, and we need all the info we can get.” Before leaving, she recruited Ann to come along, not wanting to go up against the arm of the state’s power alone, even with such an innocuous guise.

Akira had become used to stealing glances for romantic reasons over the past few months, but today he was using this skill to occasionally check up on the progress of his intrepid teammates as they performed their best amateur journalist charade. They were all used to wearing a mask of some sort, so one more shouldn’t have been too difficult, but the stakes were high enough he couldn’t not monitor how things were going. He just had to be careful not to arouse any further suspicion.

The two girls soon returned, subtle but clearly triumphant smirks on their faces. “They bought it, at least for now.” Makoto said.

“They were all Shido supporters.” Ann continued. “‘Masayoshi Shido is the only man who can take this failing country and steer in the right direction.’” She added, putting on a mocking voice.

“Steer… that could be something.” Morgana cried out from Akira’s bag. “Give some vehicles a try, Akira!”

“Quiet down!” Akira hissed, hoping no one would notice the cat’s meow in public. Luckily, a quick survey of the surroundings showed nothing out of the ordinary, and he was free to add to their wild guessing. “Cargo truck? Airplane? Ship?”

After two more monotone denials, a small chime played. They had their in. Akira made a stealthy gesture, guiding the group to an area with a bit of cover - light posts, parked cars, and slight foliage. They couldn’t risk entering the Metaverse in view of the guards. Akechi knew about the Metaverse, and while it probably wasn’t common knowledge among Shido’s operatives, they would certainly be on the lookout for suspicious behavior, and “a group of sketchy people seemingly fade into thin air” would point the finger in one unmistakable direction.

With enough between them and the physical manifestation of the seat of power Shido hoped to seize to prevent their being spotted, Akira pressed a button on the Metanav. Without the ability to affect it in reality, they had to change its cognitive form instead. One more time, the world faded to crimson and black.

* * *

Were it not for the grim allegory of the ark cutting through the waters that drowned the flooded remains of Japan, it might have been impressive. Instead, it merely served to underscore the seriousness of what they were dealing with. Shido would save himself and his colleagues, and the rest would flounder at best and die at worst, washed away by the waves.

Discomforted by the visions of buildings falling into the depths of the ocean, Akira led the group inside the interior of the ship, hoping without real belief that it would be less abhorrent than the deck. Walking through the doors was enough to disabuse them of that notion, as both their eyes and ears were flooded with the cognition of Shido. The scions of high society surrounded them, wearing masks not dissimilar from their own to hide their identities, though Akira suspected that Shido would likely still know that information for most of the people with enough clout to make it onto his ship regardless. Audible in the foyer was a high-class, calming orchestrated music piece meant for easy listening, but the sound of the overhead speakers destroyed any sort of peace one might find from it, overrunning the soundscape with the grand pronouncement of electoral promise.

“Working toward personal gain without consideration of the country is outrageous!” Shido’s voice blared from above as confetti fell in the lobby. “This country has been tainted by villains! We must reform our society to be more equitable, more hopeful!”

“These are snippets from the speeches given from the campaign vans.” Makoto said. “I heard one on the way to Leblanc the other day.”

No one needed to reply. The words were obviously fraudulent with a single look at this Palace, be it the crashing waves, the ark to save those already in Shido’s pocket, or the cognitive campaign posters that showed Shido half in shadow, fist clenched to crush his opposition. Shido was certainly not the only corrupt politician, but this seemed a step beyond even most of the garden-variety aspiring despots.

The foyer had exits, hallways and stairwells in all directions, but directly ahead was a glimmering, golden door that outshined all around it. Like any good set of thieves, they were drawn first to it. The grandest doors often hid the greatest of treasures.

A pull at the door revealed the principle problem they were going to face - it didn’t budge, not even a bit. It was like pulling a handle attached to a golden brick wall.

“I can definitely sense the Treasure from beyond that door.” Morgana said, eyes wide. “We’ll have to find a way through it. We should try to gather information and figure out how to get through.”  
They split up, needling the aristocrats aboard the ship for any information regarding how to reach Shido’s inner chambers. The pompous gentry upon Shido’s ark were loathe to talk to them at all, bemoaning how uncouth the new boarders of the ship acted, but a small amount of information was accessible, and it gave them a clear path forward - no one got to enter Shido’s chamber without five letters of recommendation. A motley crew of well-placed associates of Shido had these letters on their person. They would have to hunt down a noble, a television company owner, an IT president, a politician, and an ominously-vague “cleaner”.

“I cannot believe how frickin’ narcissistic this guy is.” Ryuji said, leaning back in a chair in the safe room where the Thieves had gathered to discuss the new information.

“I can.” Akira’s voice was cold. This cruiser was a living nightmare for him, surrounded by the hideous visage of the man who’d tried to ruin him, consecrating statues and gathering supplicants in his own honor. Akira couldn’t wait to rip that away from Shido, watch his ark crumble into the ocean he planned to damn others to. There was no time to waste.

Exploring deeper into the bowels of the ship, an errant passenger’s slip of the tongue revealed that the politician they sought was likely within the dining cabin. While this restaurant was membership-only, pilfering something that small from another guest was child’s play to the Thieves at this point. Getting in was a cinch.

“Are we at a risk of being discovered by these people in the real world?” Ann whispered to Morgana as the group scouted out the restaurant, focusing on finding the politician.

“No. These are going to just be cognitive replicas of the real people. No one but us in here is real.” Morgana replied.

The politician was less than amenable to their request for a letter of recommendation, and his cognitive appearance morphed into a hideous mass of snakes. Her newly evolved Persona spreading its wings around her and then drawing them in to cover her eyes, Hifumi looked into the politician’s soul, searching for what would tear him asunder.

“His mind is weak. A blast of psychic energy should leave him exposed to your attacks, Joker!” She called out across the battlefield, and between the attacks of Akira and Haru, the first letter was theirs in no time flat.

Their guns trained on the defeated politician, Akira asked a quick question before they moved on. “What do you know about Shido’s plans?”

“I don’t know much! All I know is that he was somehow able to cause the cognitive shutdowns on the subway to cast aspersion onto the Minister of Transport. Please, don’t kill me!” The politician begged.

Akira turned and walked away. The rest followed. “How many lives has Shido already thrown away?” Akira wondered aloud, barely stifling a growl.

As they progressed through the annals of the palace, they reached a deck of the ship with a swimming pool. The clear, idyllic water of the pool glimmered in contrast to the murky fathoms that surrounded the boat. The pure spring was poisoned by the lecherousness of those around it, including the noble, who the Thieves dealt with after an untoward pass toward Ann. Another letter in hand, they returned below deck, three more to deal with.

The hallways to where Futaba had scouted potential locations for the other VIP members were winding and confusing, and were trapped. In some rooms, a golden statue of Shido changed cognition, turning the Thieves into mere rats until they left the room. Shido truly had no goal other than his ultimate autocracy.

These paths poured out into a casino floor, filled with slot machines. One of them was occupied by a man surrounded by flunkies. Someone with that level of protection was likely one of their targets.

“I think I can recognize him.” Hifumi whispered to the group. “The mask makes it a little hard to tell, but I think I’ve seen him at one of the awful interviews I had to do at the TV station.” She spoke up. “Excuse me, sir. Can we get a letter of recommendation to visit Shido? I’ve worked with your company in the past.” She had to tamp down her revulsion at her old public persona.

“Oh, I feel like I recognize you from somewhere, I just can’t place it…” The TV president said, hand on his chin in thought. “Your outfits are quite sharp. Perhaps I can offer a letter of recommendation if you’ll do a show for our network! I think it’ll do quite well!”

Hifumi felt a wave of nausea wash over her. There was nothing she wanted to do less in this world. “We’ll need the letter first, if that’s okay.”

“I’m afraid I can’t offer that. Leverage and all that, I’m sure you understand.”

Negotiations had broken down, and they had little choice but to take it by force. This was becoming a common theme on this ship. By this point, their coordination and battle senses were unparalleled. They were reaching their apex.

The ship’s path led them along its edge, to find an open window in the room of an IT company president. Not unlike their own master of computers, he had cloistered himself away in a room that was totally unreachable from the inside. When Futaba discovered he had been the one to misuse the name of Medjed, she commanded the rest to attack. Only one letter remained.

The only area of the ship they hadn’t explored was its engine room, so their journey took them there next. The foul smell of engine runoff was overwhelming, and the room they ended up in was hardly better. They spied a Yakuza thug, presumably the “cleaner” that had been mentioned. Yusuke offered to draw him a tattoo, but when he denied an offer of further employment, they had to resort to force once more. Nonviolence had gained them none of their letters of recommendation, tragically, but they were strong fighters, practiced and orderly.

Exhausted from myriad battles, they set a path back to open the door to the main chamber. Before they could, they heard the soft sound of two shoes hitting the ground. “Long time no see.” They heard from behind them.


	30. A Murder of Crows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the belly of Shido's ship, a climactic battle with a longtime rival shows the true depth of Shido's depravity.

Goro Akechi stood before them, brandishing his silenced pistol and dressed in his pristine white and red Phantom Thief uniform. His eyes were blank, and his gaze and his gun were both aligned, pointed straight at Akira. 

“What? How?” Futaba was in full panic mode, furiously pounding at the controls that made up part of Necronomicon. “I must have totally missed him while scanning for enemies. He got the drop on us!”

Akechi’s hand was rock steady, but his gaze turned to the rest of the group. “You did very well to deceive me. I can still hardly believe it. I guess I must have underestimated you.” He forced out a dry chuckle and clenched the fist that wasn’t holding his firearm. “You have the courage to act for your own sense of justice, even when it leads you into danger… if things were different, I think we could be great rivals. Perhaps even friends.” His words hummed with a quiet sort of jealousy, along with a sad note. _That chance has passed_ , he seemed to say.

Not willing to surrender the potential of a peaceful resolution after so many fights, Akira pleaded with Akechi’s conscience, if anything resembling the sort still existed. “It’s not too late. You don’t have to do this.” Akira was starting to feel the burn from the combined weight of being just recovered from injury and having fought a great deal of battles that day. Akechi had been running around the Metaverse for years. He wouldn’t go down easy, and Akira really didn’t want to have to deal with that.

Akechi laughed again, this one sounding far less forced but just as grim. “Incredible! You don’t allow yourself to be constrained by past selves. Your heart is free. The exact opposite of mine. I’ve been tormented by this for years. I don’t plan to let you steal away my revenge.”

“Why are you working for Shido?” Makoto shouted. “Can’t you see what his heart is truly like? His whole plan for this country is-”

Akechi cut her off. “Of course I know. I’ve known the whole time. I don’t care, because he isn’t going to exact any of his plans for this country. Masayoshi Shido is my father, and right as he thinks he’s won, he’s going to have to acknowledge me as I get my revenge on him and watch the life drain from his eyes.”

“Wait. Shido is your father?” Yusuke asked.

“Yes. He gave my mother a child and then threw her to the wolves because it might harm his ambitions. I’m a bastard. My existence is poison to him. I’ve had to deal with that my whole life due to his avarice.”

“Akechi, a lot of us know what it’s like to deal with parents who don’t care about, or use you as a means to an end. That doesn’t mean we have to kill them.” From her fortified position behind the group, Hifumi called out. “You have the same powers as us! We can change his heart, and he can atone for what he’s done, just like my mother did.”

“I can’t forgive you for killing my father, but that doesn’t mean we have to fight.” Haru added from the front, her voice slightly quavering.

“That’s easy for you to say!” Akechi entered a screaming rage, and moved his arm in his anger. Akira was no longer at gunpoint. They had the advantage if this did, as seemed increasingly likely, come to blows. “You’ve all got ‘the power of friendship’, you were willing to hear each other out and become friends, people cared about you even when you were at your lowest. You go out on cutesy little excursions because you’re so ‘in love’. It’s sickening! Do you think I got any of that? I’ve been alone my whole life!” Akechi was red in the face from screaming. “The one little piece of power I’ve been given was access to the cognitive world. Whatever god or demon gave me a chance to fix everything, to take back control over my life! I won’t let you take that away from me. All I have to do is kill you!”

At that moment, Akira saw the hope of a diplomatic solution fall away. Before Akechi had the chance to right the ship, regain his composure and fire, he lunged forward, knocking the gun out of his hand.

“You think that’ll stop me? I haven’t even shown you the true power of my Persona yet.” Akechi leaned back his head, laughing maniacally. “To me.”

Akechi called forth a group of Shadows, and with another maddening laugh drove them berserk, instilling them with the same psychotic breakdown that had afflicted many government officials throughout the year. 

The Thieves arranged themselves for another fight. Lucifer’s power at her command, Hifumi surveyed the enemies. When she realized the extent of their strength, she suddenly felt a pit in her stomach. They were extremely powerful. She wracked her brain - she’d played from behind so many times in her shogi career, dealt with so many scenarios where she was backed into a corner. There had to be a solution.

“Joker, can you cast Tetrakarn?” Hifumi shouted out to her boyfriend on the front lines.

Akira summoned one of his many Personas and spent part of his rapidly dwindling energy to surround himself with a glimmering shield. When one of the berserk shadows came in for an attack, its strike bounced back, both protecting him and giving him a window of opportunity for a counterattack. Suddenly, the Thieves had the upper hand.

“Aha!” Hifumi felt a burst of energy, and was able to shift into her confident shogi attitude. “We need to push our advantage here! Take every little piece of leverage we can manage, and use it to destroy them with an all-out attack!”

Akira was injured, nervous, and tired, but he trusted Hifumi’s guidance. With a point of the finger, he and the rest of the combat-ready Thieves pushed forward, applying aggression to the psychotic Shadows and keeping them from overwhelming them. Through their smart tactics and the excellent execution thereof, a difficult battle had been overcome, though the attrition of the Palace was threatening to fully overwhelm their leader.

Once more, as he had for much of his life, Goro Akechi stood alone. Before the Phantom Thieves, the power of Robin Hood stood no chance, and his Shadow backup had fallen to their might. He wasn’t out of tricks just yet, however. His Persona had one last twist, and he planned to use it to keep these fools from destroying his chance at revenge.

“Come, Loki!” Akechi screeched, his false form of the Detective Prince falling away into the black-and-grey outfit of his heart’s true spirit. The spectral wisp of the trickster god Loki surrounded him, granting him even further power as his body contorted into an inhuman shape. He bent back farther than it seemed his spine should allow, then sprung back forward, his eyes now empty.

“He’s making himself go psychotic!” Morgana shouted out, desperately trying to make himself heard over Akechi’s screams, which were filling the engine room of the ship.

“He’s strong, but he’s losing his mind!” Hifumi replied. “Joker, keep using the Heavenly Reversal of the Tetragrammaton! I don’t think he’ll have the presence of mind to realize what you’re doing!”

Akira smirked. Only one battle after she’d developed a tactic and she’d already given it an appropriately over-the-top name. Even in the chaos they found themselves stuck in, she kept up her little tic. _She was so, so cute._

Just as Hifumi predicted, Akechi’s madness prevented him from much strategy beyond a raw display of strength, and a group prepared to turn that back upon him was able to take advantage of his unrestrained aggression. Defeated, broken, and all his energy spent, Akechi collapsed in front of them. Akira, now leaning on his team’s tactician in the physical world as well as the strategic one, could barely stand as well.

“Listen,” Akira pleaded, panting, “You still have time to change your mind. We’re going to change Shido’s heart-”

“I’m afraid there won’t be anything of the sort.” A voice that was distinctly Akechi’s rang out in the engine room, but the Akechi laying before them hadn’t uttered a word. A cognitive replica of Akechi walked out, his signature silenced pistol resting in a gloved hand just as the real Akechi had done. The cognitive Akechi’s face was blank, all emotions suppressed, or perhaps simply nonexistent. “You’ve failed. You’re a liability now, and my job is to deal with the sort of liabilities that will drag down Shido-san.”

The real Akechi managed to pull together enough energy to sit up. Despite all that had happened, his face was still affixed with a smirk. “I always wondered how he would try to stop me when I tried to use my power against him. I guess you’re how. A puppet, subject to the whims of its puppetmaster. I never want to live like that.”

The cognitive Akechi was unfazed. “People are only permitted on this ship while they are useful to Shido. You are not. Unless…” He pointed a hand out to the Phantom Thieves. “If you can finally kill them, maybe we can find some use for you.”

Akechi thought for a moment, then fired a single bullet. Akira winced, covering his face, expecting his end to finally have come. Instead, klaxons blared overhead and red light flooded the room. He had shot the emergency button that would lower the blast doors, separating the Thieves from the twinned Goros. In mere moments, the heavy steel door rose, and they lost sight of the erstwhile Detective Prince and his cognitive replica.

“Please, go. End Shido’s crimes. If I can’t…” Akechi’s muffled voice came from the other side, weakly. He was fading.

“We will.” Akira replied. “I promise.”

Akira waited for a response, but none came. All he heard was two suppressed shots, fired nearly simultaneously from beyond the blast doors.

“I tried looking for signals, but I’m not seeing any past there.” Futaba said plaintively. “The Shadows are starting to swarm, though. We need to get back to the lobby and find the Treasure.”

Akira led the group out of the belly of the ship. There was nothing they could do now for Akechi but to defeat Shido. With the letters of recommendation in hand, they were able to gain entrance through the golden doors in the lobby. Inside lay a cognitive replica of the Diet Building, at the center of which sat a smoky object that had become familiar. All they had left to do was to send the calling card.

As they walked out of the ship, Akira couldn’t help but be discomforted by the laissez-faire attitude the guests of the ship still maintained. Was Shido so deluded he couldn’t see that his world was about to collapse before his eyes? Or was he really so confident that even their entrance to his Treasure’s room didn’t faze him?

After a day of Metaverse exploration that was exhausting both physically and emotionally, the Thieves stumbled back out into reality. Still dealing with injury, Akira’s face and general demeanor begged for rest.

“Hifumiiiii…” Akira whined, his Metaverse personality fading, and his more sappy real world traits beginning to come out. “Can I crash at your place?”

Hifumi’s face went a little red at such a question being asked in front of the rest of their group, but given Akira seemed dead tired, they weren’t going to assume anything deeper than their leader earning some much needed respite. He deserved another night in a real bad anyway. The one in Leblanc couldn’t get him real rest.

With the rest of the group off to prepare something for their most flashy calling card yet, Hifumi helped Akira to her house, where he fell asleep almost immediately. As he stumbled into bed, she brushed away the hair from his face. He didn’t deserve this, but he was soldiering on to help the world and his friends. She’d be there by his side when he faced the man who ruined his life, no matter how nervous he was.


	31. Avenger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira finally gets the chance to take down the man who ruined his life, with everyone important in his life by his side (or holding his hand, depending on closeness.)

Luckily for Akira, the otherworldly soul energy that powered one’s Persona returned to one’s body far faster than it healed from physical injury. While the aches and pains leftover from his experience in the interrogation room still plagued him after a night of sleep, the exhaustion from utilizing the abilities of his various Personas was cured. That was important - they had to put on a show today. Shido was more powerful than any of their previous foes, so their calling card had to be the flashiest yet. It had to get the attention of Shido, and there was no better way than by getting the attention of everyone. A private, small threat would leave Shido able to believe he could crush the threat underfoot, failing to cause the treasure to materialize.

Unfortunately, it was likely that Shido _could_ crush them underfoot, given enough time to prepare. That caused a knot in his stomach. He was intimately familiar with the way that Shido and his cronies could dismantle someone’s life, and while rampaging through the Ark had shown him that his enemy was vulnerable, he still couldn’t shake the jitters he felt when he thought about what they had to do.

Hifumi noticed that her boyfriend had sat staring into space for a little too long after waking up, and gave him a gentle hug, trying to distract him from his nerves. She’d brought him her best attempt at Leblanc’s coffee, and now sought to give him another source of warmth and respite in his time of anxiety. While her coffee couldn’t match the refined taste of the Leblanc house blend, her companionship and presence was enough to steady Akira’s wandering mind for as long as they were together. She knew he wasn’t confident they could defeat Shido, but between herself, Akira, and the rest of the Thieves, she was, and she intended to express that to her love whichever way she could.

It did happen to be a nice benefit that she also quite enjoyed cuddling up close to Akira.

* * *

The day wore on, and the plans of the Phantom Thieves were ready to come to fruition. With the location of the Treasure confirmed and a route secured, they were ready to send the calling card. Futaba’s second-to-none understanding of technology came in handy once again, as throughout the day a virus had spread through the major broadcast stations in Tokyo. When the payload was triggered, she’d have total control of every television screen in the metropolitan area until the networks realized she’d taken over the airwaves. Even after that, she had an override that would buy them additional time. They were ready to make a splash.

The top floor of Sojiro’s house was in a state of disrepair, as the Thieves had seized it to use as a makeshift recording studio. A little bit of movie magic on a camera would prevent their actual identities from being seen by the public, but the silhouette of their very much alive leader would prove to Shido that he’d been outfoxed. Of course, they’d be vulnerable once they were revealed, but they already had to act fast after sending the calling card, and once their mission was complete Shido’s heart would change. It was an all or nothing gamble regardless of what they showed in the calling card. Better to make sure it worked.

“How did you get all this set up anyhow, Futaba?” Ryuji was looking over her shoulder, marveling at the map of networks she could hack, each adorned with the icon Phantom Thieves grin. “Is there any chance they could trace it back to ya?”

“Well, it helps to have someone with essentially unlimited funds and high connections to back you up. This is my first time hacking with a budget.” Futaba pointed a finger over her shoulder to Haru, who gave a polite wave and smiled in response. Futaba continued, “Though actually, that only footed the bill for all the camera and recording equipment. I set up the computer worm a while ago. You never know when it comes in handy.”

“Dude… you scare me.” Ryuji’s mouth was agape.

Futaba replied with a Cheshire cat smile, then turned to address the rest of the group, picking up a lapel mic from a pile of assorted detritus on her desk. “Can someone test this voice modulator for me? Akira’s identity is compromised, but there’s no reason to risk the rest of us, assuming Akechi didn’t hand off that information.”

* * *

Preparations continued apace, and as daylight gave way to dusk, it was showtime. Akira was downing his fifth cup of coffee that evening, his body and mind equally uneasy. He was going to show off that he was still alive to Shido, who had nearly destroyed him once.

A light tap on his back stole his attention. Hifumi's smiling face met him as he turned, bulwarked by the rest of the Thieves. His attitude shifted. He wasn't _going_ to show off that Shido hadn't broken him. He _got to._

"Are we all ready?" Futaba asked, fiddling with a knob on one of the many pieces of equipment she was sitting behind. Getting a chorus of nods as her response, she kicked their hybrid calling card and public performance into gear. "All right. In three, launching the Futaba Cannon!"

With the press of a button, the face of a well respected newsman on a titanic screen at the Shibuya Scramble dissolved into static. In its place, a group whose public presence had finally diminished in recent days shot onto the screen and back into the minds of the people of Japan. No matter where you looked, each television screen showed their crisp, smiling logo amidst a sea of red.

"Hello, Tokyo. This is the Phantom Thieves." Out of a thousand booming speakers came the disguised voice of Futaba. As she concluded her introduction, she flicked on the video feed. The Thieves' logo was replaced with their silhouettes.

Ryuji's muffled shouts came next. "The government told you that our leader was dead and we'd given up. That's a total lie!" He energetically patted Akira on the shoulder, thankfully just shy of hard enough to knock him over.

Everyone on the streets had given the calling card their rapt attention by this point. Traffic had stopped, and pedestrians were awed as Makoto took up the speaking mantle. "In fact, this was an attempt to cover up for some of the most heinous crimes we've seen, and it's all stemming from a conspiracy led by-"

The streets fell silent. The networks had cut the signal. Without warning, the screens went dark. Now standing in front of a camera with merely a flashing warning signal as its output, Akira felt defeated. They hadn't even said his name, let alone his crimes. They'd failed. That feeling only lasted a moment, as his group's technical wizard had a reaction of amusement rather than hopelessness.

"Mwehehehe." Futaba chuckled under her breath, typing furiously. "They reacted faster than I thought. Too bad for them, I came prepared." With a few more clicks, everything sprung back to life.

"Masayoshi Shido." Akira took the initiative. It was now or never, everyone was on his side. He wasn't going to let Shido scare him any longer. They had the power now. He kept going. "He is responsible for the mental shutdowns and planned to use them to seize political power."

Animated by her boyfriend's passion, Hifumi jumped in to follow up on Akira's revelation, spinning a speech not unlike those she was fond of at the shogi board. "You are an unforgivable mountebank, governing an empire built on sand. We will reduce your ill-gotten gains to ash and make you confess your sins with your own mouth!"

The screens cut again, but it was too late. Their message was out. Everyone with a pulse in the city would have heard what they had said. Shido was almost certainly fuming. With the broadcast stopped, Akira took the moment to pull Hifumi in for a long, passionate kiss.

"I love you, my star." Akira proclaimed. In a slightly bashful voice, he added, "Your speech was so cool."

Hifumi leaned in, pressing up against the chest of the suave thief and love of her life. "I want to spend the rest of forever with you, Akira." She whispered, closing her eyes and losing herself in a halcyon dream.

The two stayed wrapped up in each other's arms for a moment, lost in each other's eyes, blood rushing to their faces. Akira was loath to let the moment end, but he began to notice his other teammates standing around the two of them awkwardly. Gently as he could, he whispered back, "Forever starts with us taking down that bastard."

Hifumi opened her eyes again. Straightening the omamori knot in her hair, she gave Akira a confident nod. It was time to end this, to exact justice and vengeance.

* * *

Shido’s ark was in a state of disarray. The gentle violin music that had accompanied the foyer in their earlier excursions was gone, replaced by the murmurings of a crowd whose idyllic fantasy had been threatened. Guards were posted in far more places than before, and the air felt oppressive, a far cry from the masqueraded but otherwise open ship they’d seen previously. Luckily, they had already prepared their infiltration route. They knew what areas were safe, where cognition was weak, and the path to the Treasure was short. No matter how many guards Shido’s mind had summoned, it would be insufficient.

After skulking their way into the legislative chamber they’d forced open last time, they were now face to face with the Palace owner, who had come out to guard his treasure. He stood at his podium beneath the daruma curtains, glaring at the Thieves through his orange tinted sunglasses.

“How did you brats obtain this power?” The cognitive Shido had no need for pleasantries.

The Thieves had little interest in revealing more than they needed to to Shido. “What did you do to Akechi? To your son?” Yusuke shouted up at the cognitive world’s dictator.

“Akechi came to me offering his power. It’s just that he didn’t know how to properly utilize that power until I took control over his life.” Shido said. “I was going to dispose of him after the election anyway. He was too much of a loose end. I had to speed that up a little, but it’s no loss.”

“You only think about such things in terms of gains and losses…” Hifumi said, barely reserved fury audible in every word. “If you’re playing a game, that’s one thing, but you’re talking about people’s lives!”

Futaba’s rage wasn’t held back even by the slight amount that Hifumi’s had been. “You stole my mother’s research, used it for your own horrible goals, and killed her!” She had tears in her eyes.

“She could have survived if she had just given it up willingly. For a time, at least. If people would simply consent to being ruled by their betters, everything would go far more smoothly.” Shido responded haughtily.

Akira took command of the conversation, calm but cold. “We aren’t interested in hearing your excuses. Hand over your Treasure.”

Shido scoffed at the notion, as expected. “I’m not going to let lowlifes like you stop me from saving this country from its fall.” The ground of the legislative chamber began to shift, and Shido’s body and appearance began to morph. When all had settled, Shido’s form had changed to the form they expected of a palace ruler. Shido now looked more like an apocalyptic warlord than a corrupt politician, his face now covered in a spiked mask. He rode atop a golden lion, and had grown to inordinate size. “My glorious country has no need for thieves.” His voice boomed down.

The Thieves set up into their usual battle positions. They’d done this so many times before. All they had to do was defeat the Palace ruler, no matter how imposing he seemed. It was always easier said than done, but they always seemed to manage it. Akira summoned his Persona Chimera, using its overwhelming physical attacks to chip away at Shido’s golden mount. It did damage, but not anything impressive. As his friends further piled on, he changed his strategy. Blazing heat and freezing cold were similar - effective, but not a coup de grace.

“I can’t detect any sort of weakness…” Hifumi said, staring intently at Shido through the eyes of Lucifer. “It’ll have to be a battle of attrition! Can someone heal? We’re going to need a lot of support.”

Trading blow for blow, the group slowly tore down Shido’s defenses. Their copious injuries would have surely overwhelmed them were it not for their healers, Morgana and Makoto, swapped out to rest as necessary using their now practiced battlefield management system Hifumi had shown Akira on a shogi board months ago. As Shido’s life started to fade, his form shifted further, from lion to griffin, from griffin to tomb, and from tomb to monstrously muscled idealized self.

Despite Shido’s increasing potency of attacks, the Thieves held on. In a fit of rage, Shido spent a great deal of his remaining power to push away as many of his opponents as he could, separating them from him with a ring of fire. Only Akira remained to stand against him.

Akira felt himself shaking. Again, he was alone against Shido. Surely again, he would be crushed. It only took a moment of doubt before he caught himself. He wasn’t alone, no matter where his allies were physically. He had grown from being with them. He loved them. The only way to see any of his friends again, to see Hifumi’s smiling face and giggle that lit up the room, was to take down Shido. A suite of masks at his side, he stayed the course. Shido’s body fell before him, and the flames faded.

The rest of the Thieves reunited with him, and Akira took a moment to cherish the smile on Hifumi’s face. They’d done it. They were mere moments away from saving the country from the rotten adult who had tried taking his future from him.

Before they had the chance to celebrate, the Palace began to collapse under their feet. They hadn’t even seized the Treasure yet. They grabbed it, taking it over the exhausted body of Shido’s cognitive self, and fled. They tumbled out into an alley near the Diet Building, thankfully out of public view. For what felt like the millionth time recently, they were all exhausted.

“I think we did it.” Akira cheered, allowing himself a bit of cautious optimism. He believed it to be so, but he knew they’d have to wait and see.


	32. Stalling Developments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They changed Shido's heart, so everything will wrap up. Right? _Right?_
> 
> While they wait, Akira and Hifumi talk a little about the future over Hifumi's favorite game. They can't be Thieves forever, after all.

The sudden disappearance from the media of the most popular politician in the country hadn’t gone unnoticed, especially not after another Phantom Thieves calling card. One could hardly go anywhere without hearing someone’s personal theory about the disappearance of Shido. His diehard supporters claimed he was preparing a statement to denounce the vigilante Phantom Thieves, or perhaps that he had to stay in hiding to allow the police to recapture their leader. The small group of politicians who vocally opposed Shido instead suggested the Phantom Thieves had truly changed his heart, or, if they were less inclined to give credit to the paranormal, that he had simply been overcome by guilt after having his alleged crimes revealed.

The Phantom Thieves had entered an anxiety inducing holding pattern. All they could do was wait, lest they risk revealing themselves. Shido’s sudden withdrawal from society seemed to indicate their success, as they’d seen similar things from the other targets, but it was no guarantee. The fact that Akira hadn’t already been arrested meant Akechi probably hadn’t prepared a contingency plan for if he was killed, but that didn’t mean they were out of the woods. If Shido’s heart wasn’t changed, it was only a matter of time before another detective was able to retrace the steps Akechi had taken to find out Akira’s identity. Shido even knew of the cognitive world, after all.

The leader of those Phantom Thieves had still kept fairly close to Leblanc. The past few days, he had maintained his ministrations at the cafe, keeping as out of the public eye as much as he could while nervously waiting for news of Shido to either reach the television or reach his group chat. Right now, he was on break, and Hifumi had stopped by to try and ease his isolation and her own loneliness. While they were able to sneak out for a single date, it was now far too risky to even attempt, and her heart had begun to suffer from their inability to go out together.

“Are you holding up okay?” She asked, taking his hand in hers as the two scampered off to their hideout in Leblanc’s attic. They’d been dating for months, but going with Akira up to his little hideaway still felt exciting. It was nice to have a place where they could be alone together and relax, to bask in each other’s presence. Now, it provided refuge in the more literal sense as he hid away from the prying eyes of potential Shido informants, but it still gave her the exhilaration of a cozy, secret place. Never mind that most of the other Thieves used it regularly, it was theirs above all else.

“Just waiting to hear something.” Akira replied, papering over the grim subtext in his statement. “It’s hard to believe this might finally all be coming to an end.” The two had reached the top of the stairs, and Akira was surveying the corners of Yongen-Jaya from his windows. He’d grown a lot through his time here, but he still had to face that it wasn’t by his own accord that he had come here. Could he truly have finally exacted revenge on the man who had forced him here? It felt unreal.

“Do you… have plans for what you’re going to do after Shido gets dealt with?” Hifumi asked with trepidation. She’d hardly considered what she was going to do herself, and Akira had a lot more to deal with. Still, it was probably good to start thinking about this sort of thing. Even if they continued as the Phantom Thieves after Shido, it probably wasn’t the best idea to lay the foundation for their futures on an ethereal other world that put their lives in danger regularly.

“Not really.” Akira smiled, staying positive despite the uncertainty. “Even if Shido’s heart is changed and he fully admits to everything, I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to get rid of the stigma associated with the false crimes I got stuck with. Plus, I’m sure there will be no shortage of flunkies who were promised a spot in his administration who are willing to try to make my life hell if they’re able to piece it together. I’m not _that_ worried, though. Just have to take it as it comes.” He fluttered his eyelashes dramatically. “Plus, I’ll have you by my side, right, my star?”

Hifumi’s face suddenly went flush. “Of course, Akira. After all we’ve been through together, I wouldn’t dream of abandoning you just for something that mundane.” She regained her composure, smirking a little, as if it was a challenge to all the unspecified challenges of the future. She’d be there for him as he had for her. “Would you like to play a match? We haven’t in quite a while.” She gestured to her bag, where she still carried her shogi equipment, even after a long hiatus from the competitive scene.

“Happy to.” Akira beckoned on the challenge. “Perhaps I’ll be able to best you now that you’re out of practice.”

Their conversation continued to develop along with the board state. Hifumi could hardly forget her opening strategies, as they’d been baked into her brain since she had been very young. Still, her more fluid midgame had atrophied a bit over the last few months, and her boyfriend seemed to capitalize on her every mistake.

“General Kurusu… I mean, Akira.” Hifumi shook the shogi mindset for a second, asking a pointed question with a smirk. “Have you been practicing while stuck at home?”

It was now Akira’s turn to have his face turn red. “Well, I mean. I have a lot of free time, so I’ve been researching stuff online. I just didn’t want you to keep destroying me.” He stammered out, caught red-handed.

“I’m glad to see you haven’t neglected your training exercises. It’s quite flattering that you care to engage me in combat still.” Hifumi smiled. She felt so loved, that Akira would continue to strive for even greater heights in her favorite pursuit.

Akira nodded, firmly moving his next piece. The battle on the board never calmed, just like their battle in the Metaverse. As it did, he continued their chat. “Have you considered what you’ll do once all the Shido stuff settles down?”

Holding a bishop between two fingers, Hifumi pondered that as she pondered her next move. “I haven’t, really. I feel like I’ve not been able to process everything that’s happened because our roles as the Phantom Thieves have been moving so fast. The end of my original shogi career, the loss of my father… I feel them, of course. Like knives in my heart. I just don’t think I’ve fully come to terms with them yet. I just don’t have the time to stop and breathe.”

“I understand. Our recent missions have certainly made it difficult to think about much else.” Akira responded.

“You’ll be there for me, too, once this all ends, right?” Hifumi asked, a little quaver in her voice.

“Of course, Hifumi. You’re precious.” Akira’s eyes lit up.

Before they could continue their grand battle, their phones buzzed at the same time. A quick check revealed a titanic development. Makoto had texted the Phantom Thieves group chat. “Shido is making a statement. Tonight at 8, after the ballots get counted.”

Akira had seen this so many times at this point. It was overwhelmingly likely that this would mark the denouement of their involvement with Shido. He quickly replied, “Everyone meet at Leblanc tonight?” They would all see the fruits of their labors on national TV. His and Hifumi’s current battle would have to wait, as he had to prepare Leblanc for the arrival of his friends, but surely now, Shido’s defeat would give them time for many more. Surely.

* * *

The cafe in a Yongen-Jaya alley now held nine thieves and the man who gave them a hideout, all fixated on the tiny television that usually attracted the attention of bored customers. Masayoshi Shido, favorite to become prime minister in the election whose results had just been tabulated, was about to speak.

“You guys think his heart’s really gonna change?” Ryuji asked, excitement in his voice.

“You ask this every time. We just have to see what his speech is about.” Makoto replied tersely.

The news cut to the empty podium where the speech was set to occur. This was common fare on TV as of late, but this was even more anticipated. The press area was flooded with the sound of shutters clicking and the lights of flashes going off. Soon, the man himself arrived at the podium, with an unsteady gait and a sullen face. As soon as he saw the way Shido was carrying himself, Akira knew for sure they’d done it.

With a shaky start, Shido began to confess. “I’d like to start by thanking my supporters. The results are early, but we’ve seen information from some precincts that has led us to confidently declare that our party will take control of the Diet after this election.”

The crowd cheered. Akira felt his stomach sink. Did it not work?

Luckily Shido continued, taking a more melancholy tone. “This is a symbol of your trust in me, and I appreciate it. It is also why I have to make a confession. I have used my position and my connections to commit unspeakable acts. I am the reason President Okumura died.” The crowd gasped. “I conspired to set up the mental shutdowns and the psychotic breakdowns. I cannot forgive myself. It was all for my own selfish gain.”

The camera cut from the site of the speech back to the studio, where several pundits were suddenly asked to give their immediate reaction. The Thieves’ attention left the news. They’d changed Shido’s heart.

“Go ahead, everyone, celebrate.” Sojiro was elated, as though he certainly didn’t fully comprehend the methods Akira and his friends had used, he was glad to see the heart of Wakaba’s murderer changed.

Hifumi spoke up. “Should we really be celebrating? I mean, he still won the election. He’s going to be prime minister, changed heart or not. Did we really succeed in time?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry.” Ann replied. “Political parties oust their leaders all the time, right? This is a huge deal. They’ll have to get rid of him and call another election almost immediately.”

Inspired by their victory, the Thieves held a small party that lasted well into the night. The goodness of people would win out, and Shido would have his position stripped.

* * *

It had been five days, and Masayoshi Shido still led his political party. There were no rumors of anyone in his party working to try and have him removed. In fact, the general populace had almost totally ignored the revelations Shido had given at his speech the other night. Each day that passed without news increased the anxiety among the Thieves, with the first day bringing nervousness and the most recent outright panic. Worse, Makoto had sent an urgent message to the group chat, saying that Sae wanted to meet the group at Leblanc. Urgent messages from prosecutors were rarely a good sign.

Each thief dropped whatever they were doing and huddled in Leblanc. They were all petrified. Nothing had come out about Shido still. When Sae arrived with Makoto at her side, her worried face didn’t relieve their fears at all.

“We are all in danger.” Sae intoned, disposing with any pleasantries. “Shido’s heart has changed, but as I’m sure you’re all aware, he and his party still have power. While Shido hasn’t been doing much as far as I can tell, all his underlings are trying to secure their own power. As a result of that...” she sighed heavily. “The police department is redoubling its efforts to find the Phantom Thieves. I suspect there are only a matter of days before the hammer comes down. On all of you this time, not just Akira.”

The room was silent. Nobody wanted to speak. After a little bit longer, Sae continued. “It will probably take them a few days to put together the evidence, since Akechi hasn’t been seen since before the election. Is there anything you guys can do, one more time?”

Akira managed to summon the power of speech. “You said underlings. There are how many people in the administration? We can’t change all of their hearts in a few days…” He sounded on the verge of tears, falling limply into Hifumi’s lap out of despair.

Morgana jumped up on the table, not perturbed in the way Akira was. “Mementos.” He said triumphantly. “It’s the public’s palace, built from everyone’s minds. If we change the heart of everyone, it should stop it.”

“Will that work?” Akira felt a little spark of hope within him.

“We have to try. I’m not going to let you give up.” Hifumi said to Akira, running her fingers through his hair. “We have so much left to do together. We can’t lose now.”

The rest of the Thieves nodded. Mementos was their last hope to save their lives, though it felt hard to believe. After all, this was their third or fourth last obstacle in a row. The world seemed to have a way to create more obstacles in their path.


	33. Mementos Mori

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The labyrinth at the bottom of the world opens its doors to the Phantom Thieves. Is this Palace truly what people want? Can the Thieves even deal with this adversary?

The walls of the Tokyo subway were deformed around the Phantom Thieves. Large, natural growths that resembled blood veins oozed out of every corner as train after train passed by, never seeming to stop for passengers to board or depart. The haunting red light of the area looked like it came from nowhere, as if it were a natural part of Mementos’ state of being. Perhaps it was. Even Morgana, who was usually a font of knowledge when it came to the Metaverse, rarely had anything but incomplete answers about the ever-shifting labyrinth he carted them around.

For Akira and Hifumi, this area had special significance. Months ago, Akira’s rage at hearing about Hifumi’s mistreatment had led him into this dungeon alone, with the goal of changing Hifumi’s mother’s heart. Hifumi had followed him in, and awoken to the horrible truth of her mother’s corrupted desires. That shock was enough to awaken her to her Persona. Without these halls of the Tokyo public’s cognition, Hifumi and Akira would likely never get as close as they ended up, they would never free Hifumi from her mother’s desires, and they would never be able to experience the shared love they felt.

Unfortunately, this was no place for a romantic reminiscence, and there was no time for them to go on a date. Beneath these twisted tunnels, the heart of the public was supposed to sit, distorted to the point of preventing change. They had to banish the past from their minds and focus on the present.

As the Mona bus took the Thieves deeper into Mementos, the scenery turned ever bleaker and more distorted. The harsh red glow intensified as they went deeper in, and the walls scarcely resembled the real subway’s walls at all at this point. The atmosphere was made even more suffocating by the silence. Apart from the Mona bus, the shuffling of Shadows, and the occasional passing of a train car, Mementos was dead silent. Without the hum of electricity or the ambience of a crowd like in other Palaces or the real world, it felt like a land of the dead. Was this truly how the public felt, or was some other malign force controlling it? They’d entered it so many times, yet felt no closer to uncovering the truth about it.

The Shadows that made up the standing army of Mementos fled at the sight of the Thieves. They knew they were outmatched. In the past, some of these Shadows might have taken form as the distorted desires of those not strong enough to form Palaces of their own. Now, they were only able to cower before a superior force. Akira was relieved to be able to deal with fewer exhausting fights, especially since their time was limited, but he had a gnawing feeling inside him that this royal road would not extend forever. Perhaps it was just superstition, but the world itself felt like it conspired against him and his allies at times.

It wasn’t long before the group reached the deepest door they had found in previous excursions. This door promised Shadows that might perhaps pose a challenge to the experienced Metaverse explorers, and a path further down, closer to the heart of Mementos, if such a thing even existed. The group departed the Mona bus, and Akira placed a gloved hand on the door. If the Phantom Thieves had made a big enough splash with their most recent heist, it should let them through just like all the previous times. Akira’s breath caught in his throat. It had to open, they’d changed the heart of the prime minister, and they didn’t have time to make an even bigger impact on the collective unconscious.

Akira sighed in relief as the door opened, beckoning the Thieves inside, but the revelation of what the door had hidden stole that relief from him within moments. The landscape had changed; there were no more long twisting labyrinths and impossible topology. All the subway lines ran here. An innumerable crowd of cognitive people left those cars, piling through the gates at the end of the room. 

“Is that what we’re looking for, Morgana?” Akira asked the vehicle who was in the process of returning to his usual form.  
“I can’t tell for sure, but it definitely seems suspicious. It’s certainly a possibility that all these people are headed toward the treasure.” Morgana replied.

The Thieves pushed past a few of the crowd of people at the gate. The cognitive people were entirely passive, falling aside at the mere brush of a hand. It was like they were walking corpses, unaffected by their surroundings and focused on their chief goal of getting inside whatever structure was here at the heart of Mementos.

As they breached the central chamber, it became even clearer how different from the upper layers of Mementos this area was. The cavernous place - the true incarnation of the public’s palace, Akira assumed - sunk deep into the Earth, a perilous set of steps far too large for any normal human to comfortable navigate leading down to rocky paths that looked like they were carved out of the rock the Palace was built in.

The Thieves, however, were not limited in the same ways as normal humans, and were easily able to navigate their way down the paths that would lead them further in. As they conquered one obstacle, another presented itself. Despite being the Palace of the entire public, the area was still heavily guarded. What sort of treasure could be this important to all of the people in Tokyo?

“Joker, hold on.” Hifumi pulled Akira behind a pillar, away from the prying eyes of the guards, and the rest of the Thieves followed in finding hiding places. “These guards are much stronger than anything up above. We need to try to avoid as much as we can.”

Everything had to be done in one day, and after several recent exhausting excursions, Akira was more than happy to attempt to avoid conflict. That said, it wasn’t clear how much of the security of the Palace was actually avoidable. These first guards could be evaded with clever jumping behind cover as they passed, but no Palace came without a few obstacles that had to be destroyed through overwhelming force rather than conniving.

Following the veins from above, they went further down. The floors themselves here were part of some arcane contraption designed to hinder invaders, changing in color with each footfall. Trickery and puzzles would not be able to keep out the Phantom Thieves, though - between Akira, Hifumi, Makoto, and Futaba, the intellectual core of the team would hardly be stopped by these basic security measures. When the next set of doors failed to react to the same solution, a heavily fortified compound surrounded by guards nearby made itself the obvious suspect.

Their first battle in a while was not particularly troublesome. While the Thieves were slightly out of practice, they had spent far less time outside the Metaverse than usual after Shido’s palace, as time was of the essence. After so many fights, they fell back into the comfortable rhythm of fighting easily, and dispatched the guards with not unheard of levels of difficulty. Hifumi was right, however. Too many of these battles would wear them down quickly, and they would have to contend with whatever being had control of the public’s palace in the center. Avoiding combat was a smart play.

The guards had been entrusted with the protection of a small disc, which matched an indentation the group had seen at the earlier gate. With its insertion, the lights reappeared, and progress was once again possible. The way further in was even more twisted, barely resembling a structure or landmass, instead twisting in a way that looked biological. The walkways were surrounded by cages, wherein cognitive beings similar to the ones seen above on the subway resided, cocooned and entrapped by capillaries branching out from the arteries that filled the void of the Palace.

“Excuse me? Are you… alive?” Akira was loath to risk the hammer of the Palace’s security coming down on them, but a little information about the Palace would go a long way, so he was willing to take the risk by engaging its cognitive inhabitants.

“My job… my family…” The cognitive form of a salaryman wailed out, clearly in extreme pain. “I can’t handle it all… I just want to give up.” 

Akira tried poking at the salaryman a bit more, desperate for information, but the man’s soul had given up the ghost, unable or unwilling to respond to Akira any further. Still, his one statement had given a little chunk of information - it was likely that the root cause of this Palace was suffering and ennui. Akira was no stranger to these emotions, and neither were the rest of the Thieves. It was easy to see how it could spiral out into a Palace.

The cages became more and more frequent as they descended, and soon they came across a much larger holding pen. When they looked inside, a veritable rogue’s gallery stared back at them. Kamoshida, Madarame… even Shido. Their cognitive selves were here, within a cell deep within the heart of the world.

Yusuke reacted before anyone else could. “Sensei? What are you doing here?”

Madarame’s calm, collected voice from the real world left him instead of the haughty one they’d experienced in the museum Palace. “Ahh, Yusuke. I never had the chance to thank you. I became so self-absorbed, I deigned to leave the Prison of Regression. Now, I am far more comfortable.”

Akira butted in. “The Prison of Regression? That’s here, right?”

Kamoshida walked forward, hands against the bars. “Indeed. Outside, there’s all sorts of ways to suffer and want. Inside, you don’t have to worry about anything.”

Their time talking to the inmates had left them on the back foot, and guards surrounded them. In combat, they could gather no more information, but what they had found out made Akira’s stomach turn. The words of their reprehensible former foes confirmed what the salaryman from earlier said. This place was built of humanity’s desire to give up, to surrender to the whims of fate. Was this truly what people wanted?

Guards vanquished, the group hurried along. Not long after that holding cell, the prison hallways emptied out to a large, cylindrical chamber, at the center of which the blood vessels coalesced. Thousands, perhaps millions of cages lined the walls, which went upward to the point where there were no longer visible. It appeared infinite, if such a thing was possible in the Metaverse. The room was filled with the groans of the myriad prisoners, a mix between the agony of suffering and the joy of giving up on life. In the center of the room, a metal chalice lay. All the blood vessels poured into it.

“I can feel it. That’s the Treasure.” Morgana whispered to the group.

“How are we gonna steal somethin’ that big?” Ryuji asked.

“If we can’t take it, maybe we can destroy it.” Akira said, pushing the group forward. This was what they’d been looking for, the Treasure of the public. If they got rid of it, they’d finally be free.

Landing gracefully on the ground, the Thieves took a moment to size up their opponent. The chalice was massive, outstripping any structure they’d seen in reality. It felt almost incomprehensible that they could destroy it, but they had to try. Akira tried his knife against it. It sunk in like flesh. Maybe it was possible?

After Akira drew first blood, gears on the chalice began to turn. The inmates in the cells began to shout. “We need the Holy Grail!” and “How dare you bring harm to it!” rained down from the walls, and blood pumped through the vessels into its cup. Akira’s suspicions were confirmed - they wouldn’t be able to simply destroy it easily. They had to get ready for a fight.

From the back, Hifumi began analyzing as the frontliners began to fight. Little chips began to appear, but they would fade almost as soon as they were made. Hifumi recognized what was happening, but wasn’t sure how to stop it. “Joker, be careful! It’s healing up all its wounds!”

Before any real damage was dealt, a booming voice came down from above. “I am the Holy Grail. The cognition of man created me. You cannot hope to stand against me.” 

Akira felt like he recognized its imposing voice, but couldn’t place it. He didn’t care, and kept swinging. After a few more hits, Akira started to feel his energy fade.

The voice spoke once more. “Man has placed its trust in me. As such, I cannot allow you to remain.”

A moment later, the Thieves found themselves on the streets of Shibuya, far from wherever Mementos paralleled in the real world. Akira felt more tired than he’d ever felt in his life, far more tired than he had even after previous Metaverse excursions. He tried to stand up, but he couldn’t make his leg muscles move. The rest of the Thieves surrounded him, and he managed to crawl toward Hifumi, who had landed near him.

“Do you know what happened?” Hifumi sounded unsteady, unable to get up herself. She threw her arms around Akira.

Rain began to come down. It smelled like iron, and had a deep red color. Blood was raining into Shibuya, filling the streets. Despite that, Akira couldn’t manage to think of the implications. Everything was so exhausting. Were they dying? He managed to kiss Hifumi on the lips, and then faded into… somewhere? He wasn’t sure where he was, or whether he even still survived. He put all the energy he had left just to open his eyes one more time.


	34. Dream and Reality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira wakes up in the metaphysical representation of his heart, alone... but not for long. There's still work to do.

Akira expected to open his eyes to an afterlife of some sort. He wasn’t entirely sure what that would entail, but he was certain he had died after his encounter with the Holy Grail. Instead, he was face to face with the familiar purple room that had chained him in his dreams for almost a year now. He hadn’t been pulled here except by his own actions in quite some time, and he had never fully understood the nature of this place through his time working with Igor and the twins. Perhaps this was the afterlife, and he’d been taken here after his death. In his mind, it was as likely as any other outcome at this point.

He took a shaky step up out of the prison bed he always woke up on when he entered the Velvet Room. He didn’t feel anywhere near as bad as he had on the streets of Shibuya, in fact, he felt totally fine. The Velvet Room looked normal too - well, as normal as it could. The self-professed master of the place sat at his desk, glaring at Akira down his long nose, and his cell was guarded by the twin wardens who managed his Personas. He would get nowhere just by standing here - it couldn’t hurt to ask about why he was here. The wardens had been generous with information in the past if it would help him, albeit a little vague about their grand goals.

“Why am I here?” Akira said, gripping the bars of his cell.

Instead of the wardens addressing his concern, the usually reserved long-nosed man spoke back to him. “You have fallen in your rebellion against the world. You have lost this game.”

The haunting baritone of Igor’s voice made the impact of those words ring in Akira’s head even more than they already might. _Failed? Game?_ “Did you see what happened? Against the Holy Grail?”

Igor laughed grimly. “In a manner of speaking, yes. I saw you fail to defeat the apathy of mankind. As such, your life is forfeit.”

Akira’s stomach started to churn. They had barely been able to do anything against something that powerful, but their will to fight hadn’t faltered. They’d been shoved out by forces beyond their control. This couldn’t be happening. They still had hearts to change.

Igor showed no signs of relenting. “Caroline, Justine. Execute the prisoner.” The twin wardens Akira had grown to know and even trust in a strange way unlocked his cell. He tried to summon one of his Personas, but none of his masks spoke to him. Did the Velvet Room prevent him from summoning them, or had he lost that power forever after fading out of reality in Shibuya?

Caroline and Justine apparently faced no similar restrictions, stoically preparing to cast spells to deal a final, fatal blow to the Phantom Thieves’ declawed leader. Some form of arcane explosion made him stumble. He’d used that same spell before, when he needed something overwhelming - Megidolaon. Now, it threatened to snuff him out. Another strike hit him, physical this time, shaking him to his core. He felt the desire to give up. His Personas were sealed, and he had no way of fighting back. He stood alone for the first time since he’d reached Tokyo, his friends missing in action. Hifumi, potentially dead.

Potentially. He wouldn’t give up now. She wouldn’t give up on him. The rest of his friends, too. The Phantom Thieves were not going to fall now, even if it had to just be him against the world. He grit his teeth, summoning the energy to outlast the wardens’ ongoing attacks. Every blast hurt a little more, but he still failed to fall.

After the third set of almighty attacks that would have felled Akira in any other circumstance, Caroline stayed her hand, and Justine followed her lead. “Justine, I’m struck with doubt. Is this execution really what our master would want?”

“I feel like I’m starting to remember something.” Justine replied, turning away from the prisoner and toward their master.

“Girls, I told you to execute him. Please, continue with destroying him.” Igor’s voice, for the first time Akira had heard, had a hint of frustration in it. 

“No… we aren’t meant to extinguish the hope of humanity, we’re meant to nurture it. This isn’t what our master would want!” Justine said.

“Justine, I feel like we’ve been split apart. I remember now.” Caroline turned to Akira, who still stood somehow, despite the barrages. “Trickster, can you fuse us back together?”

Between his miraculous survival and the request from the usually far more hostile wardens to fuse them, Akira was stunned. He knew exactly what they were implying by fusion; he’d seen them “fuse” his Personas many times, but it was hard to believe the same could apply to the seemingly humanoid wardens. Despite the grim nature of Persona fusion, looking back and forth between the wardens placing themselves in their own guillotine and the menacing glare of the frightening man who wished for him to die, he knew what he had to do. With the pull of two levers, the wardens stood before him, combined as one.

The girl who resulted from the fusion turned her gaze to Igor. “Trickster… I am Lavenza. The true form of the assistant of this place. And this is not the master of the Velvet Room.”

As Lavenza revealed that, the being who had called himself Igor began to hover, an ominous show of force that confirmed to Akira that something strange was afoot, even though he didn’t quite know the details. When that supposed Igor spoke, the puzzle pieces connected in his mind.

“I care not. Mankind’s ruin is still inevitable, whether his life remains or not.” The false Igor’s voice had deepened further, and it became clear to Akira - it was the voice of the Holy Grail, speaking through Igor. Now levitating in the air, the false Igor continued. “I am the Holy Grail that grants wishes. I command desire, and hold court over the kingdom of man. Your justice has not swayed the hearts of man. But, if you wish, I can return the world to its distorted state, and you can continue to rampage through the hearts of corrupted men in a world that deserves naught but destruction.”

Akira had come too far to be tempted by demons. “Absolutely not. I won’t stand until the desires of the masses are truly changed, not left to fester and slowly chipped away at with no end in sight.”

“Very well. Perhaps this isn’t over yet. This ruin still seems inevitable…” The voice faded away, and the false Igor was gone.

With a wave of her grimoire, Lavenza summoned a man who looked identical to the being who had just left - presumably, the true Igor. He spoke in a much more reserved, quiet manner, and began to wax on about dreams, reality, and the nature of the room they stood in. Akira, however, cared not for the metaphysical description of this plane. He asked Lavenza directly. “Are the others here?”

Lavenza smiled. “Indeed. They were all pulled from Shibuya with you. They’re in different cells around the Velvet Room. This is quite unusual. Few other guests have had their compatriots enter here, but I suppose these are unusual times.” Lavenza nodded, seeing the desire in Akira’s eyes and stance. “I suspect you’ll want to go get them. Go on, but once you’ve collected them, you’ll need to return to reality to fight the Grail.”

Akira nearly sprinted through the halls that made up the surprisingly labyrinthine Velvet Room, and his fears quieted themselves when he saw a star in the first one he looked upon. Hifumi sat on the concrete floor, looking stunned and close to her breaking point. When she moved her attention to the steps coming for her, her own face lit up too, and she sprung up in joy.

“I’ve missed you, my star. Though I guess it hasn’t actually been that long. I think.” Akira chuckled at his own cloudy understanding of the situation they were in. He grasped her hand through the bars. Her skin was clammy, likely as a result of her combined fears of what had happened to them and exhaustion from the process of being sent to the Velvet Room. As she had for him many times before, he squeezed her hand tight. It was the best way they had to say “I’m here for you” without having to come right out and speak it.

“Akira… I’m so glad you’re okay.” Hifumi’s eyes were welling up with tears, but she managed to hold herself together. “Where are we?”

“This…” He gestured broadly to the walls around him. “Is the Velvet Room. I’ve been here before, actually, quite a bit. It’s where I’m able to improve my ability to hold multiple Personas. I just never brought it up because frankly, I assumed no one would believe me.” 

Hifumi giggled. “Akira, I’d find it hard to doubt you after everything you’ve shown me.” She had a realization, and her mood suddenly fell. “But we aren’t in Shibuya.” She sighed. “Meaning we lost against the Grail. As your tactician, I should’ve seen its strength coming. We failed. _I_ failed you. Is this checkmate?”

Akira squeezed her hand a little harder, trying to keep his own spirits high. “We can still get out of here and take the fight back to it. We still have to try.” He shot her a confident smile. “The Queen Togo I know wouldn’t give up like this if there was still hope of victory, right?”

Just as Akira had hoped, that gave Hifumi a little jolt of energy. “You’re right. We can’t let the world be destroyed like this. With my adorable general at my side, I’m sure we can handle this.” Her heart unshackled, the door to the cell fell away into the ether, and she wrapped her arms around Akira, pulling him into her, whispering an “I love you” before stealing a long, passionate kiss. There was nothing to do but fight for their world, and they had the resolve to do it. Despite those pressing issues, Hifumi wanted to stay in this otherworldly peace with her boyfriend for as long as she could. It was so calm, so much less chaotic, and Akira looked intensely cute when he was determined.

After a few minutes of togetherness that were far too short for both their likings, the two went to find the rest of the Phantom Thieves. Somewhere out in the world was the Holy Grail, bent on controlling the whims of man, and they would need everyone to help destroy it. Their comrades rejuvenated and in tow, Lavenza opened the door from the Velvet Room to the outside world.

As soon as they gazed upon the state of Shibuya, the location of the Holy Grail was made obvious, and the path was clear. Huge structures had risen from the ground, made of bone and sinew, winding through buildings and destroying the streets. In the distance, angels flew around these paths, guarding the way to the large, cylindrical structure that had once lay within the center of Mementos, now the crown jewel of the Tokyo skyline.

The Thieves went to work at once. A quick scan of the area later, and a crude map showed them which guards they could avoid, and which had to be dealt with. Dealing with guards was a minor quibble at this point. They had the wind at their backs, and they knew they had to defeat the Grail, no matter what it took. When the adrenaline high wore off, they were likely to regret their overconfidence, but that was a problem for the future.

Atop a pile of wings and talons from defeated angels, the Thieves stood at the yawning gateway to where the Holy Grail likely held its court. Within, they would either finally fall or save mankind from control of a malign demigod. They were going to succeed. They _had_ to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to check in again and thank everyone for staying along for the ride. This story has ended up being way, way longer than I expected (and probably still has 10-15 chapters left) but I've had a ton of fun with it. I also definitely will write a post-canon follow-up. Thanks for all your support, it means a lot.


	35. The Apex

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The time has come. Everything is on the line against the God of Control.
> 
> WARNING: The end of this chapter, and the rest of the fic from this point on, contain major story events from Royal. If you're worried about Royal spoilers, do not continue!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just in case you didn't see the summary, Royal spoilers begin starting at the end of this chapter. Be warned!

The veins that stretched out from the inmates of the Prison of Regression had followed the Grail up all this way, winding through the debris that filled Shibuya up to the aerie where the Thieves found themselves about to enter. Blood, or some equally macabre form of ichor, pumped through them up to the Grail. It was still powered by the twisted hearts of mankind, bent on preserving a world that distorted beyond imagination.

With a hand on his shoulder, Hifumi stopped Akira before the group entered the room. “Joker, there’s no way we’ll be able to defeat the Grail without destroying those blood vessels. If it’s truly controlling the desires of everyone, we won’t be able to overwhelm it while it’s still receiving support. Look at how much it was able to affect the world.” Hifumi gestured to the world around them. It would be foolish to underestimate the power of a being able to turn buildings into spinal columns, precipitation into hemoglobin, and cognition into reality.

“Do you know how we’ll be able to do that?” Akira was worried - a being with this much power would certainly not allow them to waltz up to its weak point unabated, and they weren’t sure of how such a construct might be destroyed. They had pretty much one way of dealing with most opponents that couldn’t be talked out of their villainy, so they had to rely on it working.

“I’ll do a scan once we drop down there.” Futaba grinned, tapping away at the controls of her Persona. “I can kind of tell what the lay of the land is down there from up here, but once we’re down there, I can chart us a course to get right up in those supply lines. They’ll have no chance.” Futaba made a “boom” sound with her mouth, miming an explosion alongside it.

Hifumi excitedly followed up. “And if we have a path, we can send someone along it to destroy them while the rest of us distract the grail!” She was feeling the rhythm of puzzling out a solution to a difficult problem, amplified by the adrenaline from standing thousands of meters above the world, fighting for its very survival. She could never have felt emotion like this at the shogi board.

“I will do it.” Yusuke stepped up from the group of the Thieves’ general combatants, a hand raised. “Distract this wicked god and I shall sever it from its captives with one devastating blow.

Hifumi’s eyes lit up. Everyone was getting so into the battle, and the habits that she’d found so troubling during her time in competitive strategy gaming were shared by her compatriots. Sure, Akira had mentioned how adorable he found her passionate enthusiasm, but there was a sweeter feeling still seeing someone join in. Yusuke did have a reputation of strange behavior at Kosei, but not of the same type she did. Looking down at Tokyo, she came to appreciate how the Thieves had given her not just freedom from her mother’s hand, but true friendship. All of the Thieves were by her side, now and forevermore, even if she had a tendency to act a little dorky when she got excited about a tactic.

Of course, Akira had an outsized role in that friend group. Whenever she got really into something, she could sometimes catch Akira stealing a glance with love-drunk eyes and a dumb smile on his face. She wasn’t innocent of that particular crime herself; her boyfriend was quite dashing in both his form fitting thief outfit and his more relaxed everyday clothing, though she still found it difficult to express her appreciation for Akira on a physical level out loud.

Breaking through her internal monologue, Akira rested a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Come on, my star. We have to take this country.” He pulled her in for a kiss, and then they led the rest into the pit to challenge the Holy Grail. No demigod would prevent them from their life together, from a million more kisses, from true happiness. People deserved _that_ , not some hellish prison of the mind.

* * *

Once again, the Phantom Thieves found themselves face to face with a being with seemingly unbounded power bent on their destruction. This time, however, they had a plan. Akira hit the ground with a running start and began hacking away at the metal that formed the goblet representing the Grail’s physical form. The rest of the frontliners joined him, forming an all-out assault on the demigod that had taken Tokyo. Protected behind them, the navigator and tactician whispered to each other, making final plans to sever their opponent’s connection to its demented worshippers.

A quick scan from Necronomicon later, Hifumi gave a signal to Yusuke. They were ready to activate the plan. Amid the chaos of the fight, their fox snuck away, hiding behind the pillars and debris that filled the room, ascending them while Joker and the rest put on a show to keep the Grail distracted. It worked perfectly. With a single clean cut, the blood that had kept the Grail from being injured flowed no longer into its cup but onto the cracked earth. The Grail recognized this, and called out in protestation, but it no longer held sway over them. Before long, cracks began to show in their formerly invincible foe. A little push further and pieces of the Grail began to fall from its body. They’d defeated it.

Or so they thought. Upon the crumbling of the Holy Grail, the earth shifted again, lifting them yet higher above Tokyo. In front of them, a titanic, vaguely humanoid figure floated. In that same booming voice the false Igor and the Grail had used, it boomed out. “Foolish humans. You cannot defeat me by destroying an earthly avatar. I am Yaldabaoth, the demiurge. You have no means of escape.”

The Phantom Thieves scrambled to get back into formation, as this had made clear that their fight was not yet concluded. The Grail had already been a terrifying foe, and now it had transformed itself into a true deity. Perhaps it had always had that form, and merely revealed it now after the Thieves had conquered its earthenware substitute. Either way, there was no way to a future without destroying this enemy, too.

This incarnation of the nightmare controlling the people of Shibuya had a litany of abilities, each on its own arm. A bell in one arm, a book in another, and a firearm in one more and a sword in the last.

“The sins of man will be its downfall. There is no means of escape.” Yaldabaoth bellowed, bringing a sword of judgment down upon Haru while firing from its gun at Ryuji. Both went down, bodies buckling under the unbridled force of the demiurge’s swings. They weren’t able to fight back to their feet, but the rest continued. With another extended arm, Yaldabaoth’s book of shadows reflected the next set of attacks back at the assailants. Morgana and Ann fell this time, and the amount of Thieves on their feet was shrinking ever lower.

“D-don’t attack when the book is held aloft! He’s utilizing a reflective tactic!” Hifumi called out to the group, but it was too late to prevent what had already occurred. She was starting to panic.

With the ring of a bell, the minds of a few of the Thieves still in fighting conditions lost the ability to control themselves, and tore each other asunder in a fit of fury. Another set of fighters hit the ground. Among those with combat capability, only Akira was left standing.

“Joker! I’m detecting some kind of huge wellspring of energy coming from the demiurge-” Futaba called out from behind Akira.

Hifumi jumped in too. “Guard, Akira, please!” She sounded like she was going to cry, and neglected the use of codenames in her panic. 

Just before the demiurge released the rays of control, Akira managed to put up a small defense. It wasn’t much, but it may have meant the difference between death and survival, both for him and those behind him. Still, the rays took much out of him, and he collapsed with the rest. Had it been foolish to stand against something that had the support of all of the public?

A small call came from the streets, drifting up to the arena where the Phantom Thieves clung to survival, glared down at by the pinnacle of distorted desire. “I believe in you, Phantom Thieves!” It was Mishima, one of the most fanatic supporters of their little gang of rogues. A moment later, it was clear that his voice was not the only one on the side of the heroes. A slowly growing chorus of people in Tokyo were calling out for them, begging for salvation from the being that had taken people captive in distorted cognition.

Akira felt his heart stir from the will of the people. There was still something he could grasp onto. The rest of the Thieves noticed this too - not from any internal revelation, but from the demonic spectre that descended from the sky above him.

“Your heart still has the will to go on? Then I will not allow your rebellion to end in failure. I am Satanael, and I am thou.” The demon lent a hand to Akira, who got back on his feet.

Imbued with otherworldly power, Satanael guided Akira’s hand, gripping onto the model pistol he used for Metaverse excursion, and pointing it at what would be the head of Yaldabaoth, if it bore even the most meager resemblance to human physiology. As he squeezed the trigger, Akira spoke only one word. “Begone.”

The bullet, infused with Satanael’s power, tore through Yaldabaoth. It buckled, collapsing to the Earth. With a last scream of “Damn that Igor”, it faded into dust. The sky began to return to its normal color instead of the blood red hue it had taken on during the demiurge’s rain, and the bony structures began to retract. Akira grabbed Hifumi’s hand to try to save her in case they fell, but the bones fell slowly enough that they were able to safely make it to the ground.

The streets of Shibuya had returned to normal suddenly, the populace having forgotten what had happened mere seconds before. A gentle snow fell onto their hair, melting into it. It was Christmas, but they hadn’t dressed for it. Hifumi huddled up to Akira, trying to gain some shelter from the cold.

“That… was so cool!” Hifumi was ecstatic. “You make such a cute showman, Akira.”

Akira’s face was red, part from embarrassment and part from the chill that was seeping into him. “You’re too sweet. I’m just glad we’ve won. We finally, finally get a chance to relax and have something good happen for once.” He put an arm around Hifumi and kissed her forehead.

“Ahem.” A familiar nearby voice disturbed their romantic embrace. Sae Niijima strode up, sharply dressed and looking at Akira. “Sorry to interrupt, Togo-san, but could I speak with Kurusu-kun for a moment?” Hifumi nodded, and stepped aside for a moment. As she did, Sae’s face fell from a smile to a serious look. “I can’t understand what you all have done, but I can’t thank you enough. I received a call from a high-up member of the government. They’ll be putting Shido on trial soon. He won’t be prime minister any longer.”

“That all seems great. Why are you so worried?” Akira felt his internal celebration pause. Sae’s hesitance surely had meaning.

“We’ll need someone to testify against Shido, to give credence to the accusations of his crimes. I’d like that to be you. Unfortunately, due to your parole agreement… this will almost certainly mean you’ll have to go back to juvie, at least for a time.” Sae didn’t enjoy that last part, but it was inevitable.

“I…” Akira hesitated. He had hoped to use this time of peace to spend time with Hifumi before being pulled back to his hometown at the end of the year. This would destroy his plans. But if he turned it down, all their work would be for naught. “I guess I can-”

“No need.” Another familiar voice joined the fray, backed with a mop of light brown hair. Goro Akechi somehow stood before him, despite his untimely demise earlier this month. “I’ll be happy to testify against Shido.”

“Akechi? How are you…?” Akira trailed off.

“I’m not quite sure myself.” Akechi laughed the practiced breathy laugh that was a signature of his public persona. “But I’m loath to not repay a debt. Come, Sae-san. We can discuss this alone.”

The two of them walked into the snowy night. Akira wasn’t sure how he was saved from another small torture, but he wasn’t in the mood to look a gift horse in the mouth. He met up again with Hifumi.

“Everything okay?” Hifumi asked, worry present in her furrowed brow.

“Somehow. Another minor miracle, frankly.” Akira wrapped his uniform jacket around the both of them to attempt to keep warm. “Merry Christmas, my star. Let’s go get dinner.”


	36. Yuletide and Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yaldabaoth lay defeated. Their work was over. Hifumi and Akira could finally relax and enjoy themselves on Christmas.

With the heat of battle fully faded, Akira and Hifumi both started to feel just how truly cold it was on the streets of Shibuya in the winter. No matter how close they huddled together or how much Akira made an attempt to share his jacket, the falling flakes were a reminder that they would have to pay the price of being out in the winter weather at least for a little while longer. It was Christmas, after all, and what good was Christmas without a little bit of cold to use as an excuse to stay close to one another by the fire?

Akira put a hand out, letting a few snowflakes fall into his palm. They melted away almost immediately, but he got a glimpse of their icy crystal structures for just a moment. It was a far cry from the blood that had rained down on them earlier that day. It was hard to imagine that Tokyo had looked more like something out of a horror film than the bustling metropolitan streets he saw now so recently. Instead, all was returned to normal, and even Akechi had returned to take his place in testifying against Shido. It was a perfect ending.

Hifumi, gripping onto Akira’s hand as the two walked down the street, scrolled through her phone. She saw the usual, starting with a few shogi apps she used to practice games on the go. She hadn’t played seriously in so long, her rating was going to suffer dramatically when she got back into the rhythm of the game. There was also one shogi app that bore her likeness - she always hated it, but it was part of a sponsor deal. After the recent scandals involving her, it might have even been shut down, but she didn’t care to open it to check. After that, the group chat for the Phantom Thieves. It was presently lit up, probably due to some argument between Yusuke and Futaba, as always. She’d never had such close friends before, and she’d had worries that the end of their battles in the Metaverse meant they’d soon drift apart. A notification for twenty new messages about the artistry of Featherman gave her hope that these bonds wouldn’t fall apart so easily.

There was one conspicuous absence from her phone screen. The Metaverse Navigator was nowhere to be found. Before just now, the app couldn’t be removed even if one wanted to. Now, it was suddenly gone. They’d really done it. Their Personas were gone, the other world was gone… it was bittersweet, but it was better for the world. They couldn’t have kept gallivanting in other people’s cognitions forever, after all. The world would have to pick up its own slack from now on. She merely had to live in it, as best she could, and she couldn’t ask for a better boy to live with in that world. It almost seemed too good to be true, a little too perfect.

“Hifumi?” That wonderful boy startled her, causing her to jump a little bit. She must have got wrapped up in her own head for longer than she expected. Akira laughed a little, before gently placing an arm around Hifumi’s shoulder. “Are you ready to go get dinner?”

“Yeah. Sorry… I was just thinking about the future. And the present, I suppose.” She shook off the contemplation and smiled. “I should just try to let go and enjoy tonight without overthinking everything. What do you want to eat?”

“We could get sushi!” Akira said, a barely hidden hint of excitement in his voice.

“Won’t that be expensive?” Hifumi said, worried.

“Oh, I’ve got enough still stashed from Mementos exploration, and I feel like you deserve a perfect Christmas date after having to deal with all my various metaphysical problems.” Akira laughed, both amused and surprised by the dissonance between their recent battle and the relative mundanity of a Christmas date.

“Hey, we were all threatened by that deity, not just you. I’m more worried we won’t be able to do anything quite as exciting for the rest of our lives. I don’t want to have peaked in life this early. I was really getting into setting up great moves for you to pull off.” Hifumi giggled, a little bit embarrassed by her love of overdramatics but too relieved to be back to normal to care.

“Well, in that case, follow me, my star.” Akira tried his best to pull off a suave wink, leading his girlfriend through the crowded streets. He had a sushi shop he’d been dying to try, and he was thrilled to get the chance to take Hifumi there.

* * *

“Oh, you guys are booked up? Months in advance, you say? Oh…” Akira had called the sushi place in advance, and by the look on his face and his half of the conversation, things were not looking good. Hifumi had watched from a slight distance, watching his face fall from excited to worried to miserable over the course of a minute.

“Well, what did they say?” Hifumi looked at Akira, already knowing that this particular plan had fizzled out but not wanting to make Akira stew in the awkwardness she could read off of his face.

“They said I’m a terrible boyfriend.” Akira sighed, throwing up his hands in despair. “Well, not in as many words, but it’s what I felt. Of course they’re fully reserved for Christmas. I needed to reserve us a table in like, September.” He resisted the urge to bury his face in his hands and sulk, instead turning to apologize. “Sorry, my star. I kinda ruined our date.”

Hifumi kissed Akira firmly on the lips before any more words were exchanged between them. “You need to stop overthinking these things, you fool.” She pulled Akira into her, guiding the two out of the pedestrian path and against a wall of a nearby building where they could talk. “It may have been a miscalculation, but even the greatest general makes the occasional error in their strategy. Just use this knowledge to prepare for your next battle.” She drew in closer, voice lowering to a whisper. “Also, after everything we’ve been through, I’m just happy to spend time with you. I don’t need a fancy dinner to have a nice date, and you’re a great boyfriend.”

After hearing that from Hifumi, Akira no longer had to deal with the cold weather, at least for his face. Tender, earnest love hit him very hard, especially when his adorably dorky girlfriend still phrased it in the language of conflict and war as if she still was facing him across the archaic tabletop battlefield. “You’re too good to me, my star.” He said, his face muffled by a piece of jacket he’d pulled to his face to hide his embarrassment. “I guess we can just go back to Leblanc and finish our match from a few days ago?” He wanted to add in a quiet “and cuddle”, but the words were caught in his throat.

“Well, I suspect there won’t be any restaurants with vacancies, but there could still be something we could get. I could contribute a cake to our date. After all, you do a lot for the two of us already.” Again, she added a last sentence of sweetness sotto voce. “And I could never be too good to you, you’re the best.”

This time, Hifumi led the charge, taking the two out of the nightlife district where restaurants were common to a little further out, where they could hopefully snag something from a bakery that hadn’t yet fully sold its Christmas stock. The rich natural smell of the bakeries had faded by this point, drowned out by the artificially pumped scent of cinnamon and pine to try to entice in late coming customers to purchase what remained of the day’s pastries. One had a stand set up outward facing the street, and Hifumi gracefully strode up to the window.

“Excuse me, ma’am. I know it’s kind of a long shot, but we were wondering if you had any cakes left?” Hifumi asked, politely smiling. Akira hovered over her shoulder, doing his best puppy dog eyes at the vendor.

“You’re in luck,” the baker said. “We had an order just cancel last-minute. We have just that one cake.”

“We’ll take it!” Hifumi nearly shouted, covering her mouth for a moment in embarrassment afterward, as she certainly hadn’t intended to sound that excited.

A treat safely stashed in Hifumi’s bag, the two left the packed city streets for their quiet hideout of Leblanc. They couldn’t find a place for a romantic, candlelight Yuletide dinner, but they still had each other and a place they could be together.

* * *

The cafe door’s bell rang into an empty shop. Akira flicked on the lights, rejuvenating the previously darkened lobby. Sojiro had presumably long since returned home, and the warmth of the central heating was a wonderful panacea for the chill they’d suffered under since the conclusion of their battle. This was their first time entering Leblanc together without the spectre of phantom thievery hanging over them. Over time, it had become their hideout. Tonight, against the pure white winter wonderland outside, it felt like a cozy home.

Akira flung off his jacket and slung on his apron as Hifumi sat down at a booth, gently retrieving their cake and placing it on the table. It wasn’t perfect, the cherries on top were a bit askew, but there was little to complain about. She just wanted to cuddle close with Akira away from the cold and revel in their victory. They had all the time in the world now.

Akira retrieved two cups of coffee and a butter knife. “Before I sit down and take off my apron, do you want any dinner? We only really have curry, but I could make some of that.”

Hifumi shook her head. “Honestly, I’m not particularly hungry. I don’t want to fill up before the cake. I would have thought I would have been, but I guess I’ve been satiated by the taste of victory.”

Akira laughed, and the two ate their cake in a comfortable silence. A bit into their dessert, Hifumi reached across the table to swipe at Akira’s face with a finger. “Sorry. You got frosting on your face.” She too broke into laughter. Everything felt weightless. So much had been taken off of their shoulders. In the back of her head, she felt the gnawing anxiety about what to do now that the Metaverse was apparently gone, but she could push that away for tonight. There would be plenty of time to consider it.

Their dessert concluded, Akira led Hifumi up to the attic bedroom she had become a frequent guest in. The shogi board from their game a few days prior, before the fact that Shido’s change of heart wouldn’t have solved their problems, still sat carefully preserved on Akira’s table. The game suddenly flooded back into Hifumi’s mind. Based on this current board state, she was in real trouble.

Akira tented his fingers. “Are you prepared to finish our battle? Not just one campaign will conclude tonight, Miss Togo.” He pointed to the board with a flourish.

Hifumi felt the rush of the shogi battlefield flood her, no matter how bad a position she was in. “I’ll destroy you, Kurusu. Come, I’ll crush your armies beneath me.”

Despite her confidence, there was no way she could wriggle out of this situation. For the first time, Akira had her in a trap. With a few good moves, he was able to draw out a checkmate.

“I concede.” Hifumi said, without sadness present in her voice. Unlike previous losses to more storied opponents, she didn’t feel regret. She was proud that Akira had truly defeated her, though he had had a much longer time to analyze the board state. “Well done.”

“I did it!” Akira cheered, before restraining himself a bit. “You didn’t go easy on me, right?”

Hifumi shook her head. “No, it was a fair fight. Your play has grown immensely.” She stole Akira’s breath with a kiss he wasn’t expecting.

When he pulled away, Akira demurred. “Well, the score is still like… one hundred-something to one, but I must admit. I feel good.”

Hifumi took his arm. “Seize this feeling, and continue practicing your craft until none could possibly best you.” She had a glint in her eye. “Except me, of course. I’ll have to redouble my efforts now that you’ve proven a more worthy challenge, Kurusu-kun.”

The two left the table for a spot on the bed where they could watch the snow fall through the window. The snow was only visible through the light of the streetlamps, as the darkness had taken most of the vision. Still, it was a beautiful sight, and the two melted into each other’s lap. Akira idly stroked Hifumi’s hair, playing with the knot ornament. She sighed contentedly.

“Everything really seems to have wrapped up. Do you feel worried this is turning out almost a little too perfectly? Things always seemed to go wrong before.” Hifumi said, speech starting to slow as the threat of slumber crept in.

“Mmm.” Akira thought for a moment. “I’m not sure. Maybe we finally did enough that we earned things just working out for once?”

Snow falling outside the window and souls filled with love and holiday spirit, the two soon fell to sleep. The bed was too small for both of them, but they were cuddled closely enough that it hardly seemed to matter.


	37. Jamais Vu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira goes to sleep once and sees everything change.

Akira’s mind melted into the warm feeling of cuddling with his girlfriend as he fell asleep. His unconscious mind dreamt that he was cozy in front of a Christmas fire as he faded away. This was what peace was like. With the Metaverse Navigator gone from their phones, there were no extradimensional entities to pull him from his sleep and interrupt any pleasant dreams he was having. He was free for his mind to wander through the realms of fantasy.

Or so he thought. His consciousness faded further into the dark, away from the pleasant feelings he’d taken with him to bed and into the abyss. He felt cold tendrils enveloping him, pulling him further down. Was this a nightmare? His whole body was shivering, and he felt like he couldn’t move.

With a snap, he awoke, sitting straight up in bed. But he didn’t find himself in the comfortable embrace of Hifumi, or even alone in his bed in Leblanc. Instead, he was in Shujin, laying on a couch in the nurse’s office. The place was eerily quiet, reminiscent of Mementos. He didn’t realize how much background noise was generated by electricity until he was in a place without it, and he got that same feeling here. Any sort of sound would be amplified a thousandfold.

He managed to sit up, despite the world pulling him down. He’d woken up, but this still had to be a dream. He’d fallen asleep in Hifumi’s arms, safely at home. Shujin wouldn’t even be open, and even if it was, how could he have gotten here? The world around him was shimmering, a faint blue light emanating from all surfaces. Dim lights shone in, illuminating every particle of dust in the air. If Akira hadn’t seen this room all the time when school had been in session, he could’ve been convinced this place was abandoned or condemned or something. It was a deeply uncomfortable sight.

He looked down at himself. He was back in the prison clothes he would be forced into whenever he entered the Velvet Room. That made some sense, he supposed. Perhaps the effects of the Velvet Room had made their mark in his mind and caused him to imagine it? As he stood, he felt a sudden compulsion flood his body. _I need to get out of here. I need to go home._

As he exited the room and wandered the halls of Shujin, the silence broke. He instinctively covered his ears as the halls echoed with voices. After a moment of focus, he was able to pick a few out, and it quickly became obvious what he was hearing. The voices of his friends, the erstwhile Phantom Thieves, were filling the halls of his school, almost as if they were coming from the overhead speakers.

“I was just hoping that I’d be able to get back to running, maybe get a scholarship for it, and use the money to be able to help out my mom.” Ryuji’s voice rang through his head, noticeably more tender and open than the boisterous Ryuji that Akira was familiar with. “‘Course, with my leg the way it is… I doubt there’s any way I’d be able to run again.”

Akira’s heart hurt hearing his friend in this much sorrow. He knew Ryuji worried over his mother, and that he was disappointed he was unable to continue on in track after his incident with Kamoshida, but Ryuji had always been someone who would keep the mood light and airy. The moments when he opened up were rare, even to his close friends like Akira. Hearing his thoughts unreserved was much harder.

Akira didn’t have long to ruminate on Ryuji’s internal dilemma before another voice rose up above the fray. Haru’s voice, shaky and whispery, but amplified by the acoustics of wherever he was, now invaded Akira’s ears. “The amount of work left behind in regard to Okumura Foods is overwhelming, but I could probably deal with it if that was all. Combine that with the aggressiveness from Sugimura, who claims that the marriage contract is still valid despite my father’s death… it’s so tiresome!” Haru’s voice faded out with one last expressive word that almost sounded like a scream.

Changing her father’s heart hadn’t solved everything for Haru, and probably wouldn’t have even if he hadn’t been killed by Akechi. She still had to deal with the fallout, now thrust into the driver’s seat of a billion-yen business empire she had little to no experience in running. She had kind of relegated herself to a background role in the Phantom Thieves, mostly providing funding and the occasional slightly worrying destruction of the odd Shadow, and Akira finally started to understand why. He felt his urge to try to fix everyone’s problems welling inside him, but he knew that would only lead to him falling apart from overexertion. Plus, this was only a dream, right? That said, it seemed entirely reasonable…

A third voice perked his ears. He was intimately familiar with this one. “The more I think about trying to return to the tournament scene… I’m worried no one will ever trust me again. My father was famous, people respected him, so he might have been able to back me up, but without him… I don’t know if there’s any hope. Right now it hardly seems feasible. If he hadn’t gotten ill, perhaps my mother never would have done such awful things...” Hifumi’s voice called out through the hallway. Akira could hardly bear to hear Hifumi with such hurt in her voice, even more than the rest of his friends. No matter what impassioned speech he gave to the public in her defense, it mattered not. Trust in her honesty in the shogi world would be strained at best, potentially never re-established at worst. Unlike his excursions in the Metaverse, he was powerless here, and that dug a knife into his heart.

The voices of his friends kept swarming around him, and he couldn’t bear another second of it. He made it to the front door of Shujin and kicked open one of them, stumbling out through the entrance.

* * *

As soon as he crossed the doorway, he awoke, this time in the real world, with a start. Sweat pouring from his face, he checked his surroundings. He’d gone to sleep on Christmas, entwined with Hifumi after a momentous battle and a scuffed but wonderful date. Hifumi wasn’t here. Where was she? He checked his phone, to see if she’d sent him a message. It was always possible she had had to bolt for some early-morning errand. What he saw on his phone screen shocked him. The date read January 1, and his message inbox was full to bursting. Had he really slept for almost a week?

He sent out a message to Hifumi as soon as he could. “Hey, where did you go after last night? What happened? What day is it?”

“Are you feeling okay, Akira?” was the reply. Hifumi had sent him a few messages in the intervening time, but nothing that gave him particular alarm. It all seemed very normal, as if he had simply stepped out of reality for a few days. “When I woke up, you seemed so peaceful asleep, so I didn’t wake you up. I haven’t heard from you for a few days, but I figured you were just taking a break. Things have been busy lately, after all!”

Maybe he really _had_ just slept for a few days. That would be… shocking, to be sure, but plenty of things that were truly shocking had happened this year. Maybe his body was just destroyed from the effort of summoning Satanael. But what about that nightmare? It felt so real - he hadn’t heard all those words from their supposed speaker’s mouths, but he could envision them all easily. That said, he couldn’t exactly go up to Ryuji or Haru and ask him to bear his heart, let alone Hifumi. He didn’t want to open up an emotional wound she hadn’t even really thought of just because he had a bad dream.

“I guess I was just really tired after everything that went down. Sorry, I feel a lot better now.” Akira replied. He still wasn’t totally sure what was happening, but he could always explain later. His friends were used to him being a little out of it at times. They still had yet to fall into a new rhythm of life now that their days as the Phantom Thieves were behind them. This was just part of that. He tried desperately to get himself to believe that, but it still felt wrong somehow.

“Akira?” A well-dressed young man strode into his room as if nothing was strange about that. Akira felt a jolt of lightning go down his spine.

“Who the hell are you?” Akira glared back at the boy who had just intruded upon the attic of Leblanc. It was too early for the store to be open, but this was off-limits for customers anyway. Plus, Akira had never seen this person in his life, and he waltzed in as if they were the best of friends.

“Did something happen to you, Akira?” The boy asked, incredulous. “It’s me, Morgana. Why are you acting so strangely?”

“No, Morgana is a cat.” Akira replied matter-of-factly.

“Uh, no.” The supposed Morgana laughed. “Were you and Hifumi drinking Christmas night? You’re worrying me a little. I’ve always been human. Anyway, are you coming along? We’re going to meet the girls at a shrine for New Year’s. I figured Hifumi would have let you know, since you two are all, y’know, but you’ve been acting weird lately so I came to get you.”

“Ah. A shrine… yeah, I’ll come along. I need to talk to everyone. I need to figure out what’s going on.” Akira said.

“What’s going on is that you’re losing it or something, but alright. Get dressed, it’s cold out.”

“Morgana” returned downstairs, and Akira took a moment to prepare to go outside. He threw on a thicker jacket. It was time for winter uniforms, and protection from the chill would be nice. With a wave to Sojiro, who seemed entirely nonplussed by the situation. Something had to be up, though. Had he hallucinated the last year? There was no way.

He followed Morgana outside, before someone pulled him into an alley. Today was just full of surprises. Even after the Metaverse vanished, nothing could be simple.

“You. You’ve noticed it, haven’t you? You must have.” It was Akechi, wrapped in a winter coat and scarf and with a desperate glare. For the second time recently, he’d shown up despite having no right to be able to.

“What- How are you even here? You’re supposed to be in jail, testifying against Shido.” Akira felt his sanity starting to slip. He had fallen asleep in a dream and awoke to a world of chaos.

“I. Know.” Akechi punctuated every word with a stop through gritted teeth. “As soon as I turned myself in, they just… let me go. It doesn’t make any sense. Have you talked to anyone around here? It doesn’t make any sense. Some time this week, around Christmas, everything changed.” He relaxed a little, loosening his grip on Akira. “I know you have reason to hate me. But we have to figure out what’s going on. This world is _wrong_.”

Akira wasn’t sure how he felt about this world, but at least someone else saw that things had changed drastically. “I’m going to talk to some friends, but I’ll keep an eye out. I’m not sure I fully understand the situation. This wasn’t always like this, right?”

Akechi was unamused. “Of course it wasn’t, you idiot. Something is charming these people, or destroying their minds, or… I have no idea, frankly.” He turned to leave. “I’ll come talk to you in a week. But I’m going to figure out what’s happening and stop it, no matter what you do. I do hope you make the right decision and join me.” With another glare, he walked off, and Akira headed for the shrine, trying to wrap his mind around everything that had happened. He couldn’t make sense of it all. They’d destroyed Yaldabaoth, what other being had this kind of power?


	38. Enshrined in Memory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despite the odd happenings, Akira rejoins his friends at the shrine. Everything is fine. Everything is fine.

The shrine was secluded away from the bustle of the city, despite its relative closeness to the heart of the metropolitan area. It was New Year’s, however, and that promised this quiet holy place would be packed to the brim with people ready to make their wishes for the year ahead, hoping a pittance of a donation would gain them favor with the gods. In the past, Akira might have pooh-poohed such claims - now, after coming face to face with beings that both described themselves as deities and had the powers to back it up, there might be some sense in the small rituals of good fortune, though given the malevolence of the ones he had met, he had doubts about their efficacy.

While his hurried preparation for today’s trip had left him without coins to donate to the shrine, the path from Leblanc to the shrine where his friends gathered was not without a little bit of good luck. The sidewalks were far less populated than he had expected, and those people who did pass him by bore faces of contentment, without exception. He knew that true change for the populace would have to come from within their own hearts, but perhaps the destruction of Yaldabaoth would give them the kick needed to stop wallowing in apathy. They had done something good, after all.

“Akira, come on! I don’t want to keep Lady Ann waiting.” The handsome, sharply dressed boy who had taken Morgana’s role in his life demanded he pick up the pace, and Akira’s head fell from the clouds. There was something deeply sick in the world, no matter how peaceful everything appeared. He had to stay vigilant, and figure out what was going on. Had Morgana explained that defeating Yaldabaoth had returned his form to human, Akira might have been convinced. But such an explanation was not given, instead, it was as if the past had been washed away. He couldn’t accept this until he discovered the cause.

His thoughts still clouded, he finally arrived at the torii gates that formed the barrier between the secular and the sanctified. The crowds he expected still hadn’t appeared. The weather was inviting enough for January, and he hadn’t heard of any events that might cause people not to attend. Perhaps slaying a god in front of the public, even if they didn’t remember the exact details, could have had an effect on the collective unconscious and weakened the hold of spirituality.

“Oh, there you are, Akira!” Ann called to him across the shrine’s courtyard. As he’d seen from outside, the grounds were practically desolate, save for his gaggle of friends. With a bit of trepidation, he approached. He hadn’t seen his friends since before his bizarre ethereal coma, and he wasn’t sure how the rest of them would be affected by whatever was going on.

As he made his way to meet his friends, trying to keep up with the human Morgana who was rapidly bounding his way across the path, someone grabbed his hand. Gently, in a smooth motion, Hifumi revealed herself to Akira, and for a moment, he felt every little bit of anxiety he had felt since waking this morning fade into the back of his mind. With a smile seemingly unburdened by any issues, mundane or otherworldly, she lit up his life as she was wont to do.

“Happy New Year, Akira.” Hifumi was dressed in an elegant, floral patterned kimono, hair perfectly fixed into her hime cut, her usual omamori knot now perfectly complimenting her radiant aesthetic. 

Akira suddenly was flooded with disparate emotions - he felt more flustered in front of Hifumi than he had any time since the two began dating all those months ago, and he also now felt extremely underdressed for the occasion. He couldn’t particularly blame himself, as he hardly had any time to prepare for this meeting, but at this moment he felt far less deserving of his partner than usual, and even on good days he wondered when his romantic luck would run out.

“Akira. You’re staring.” A gentle nudge from Hifumi rescued the both of them from potential embarrassment, as surely the rest of the Phantom Thieves would engage in a bit of gentle teasing over Akira being starstruck by his own girlfriend had they noticed. _Not the Phantom Thieves anymore_ , he realized. _Just my friends._ That would take a lot of time to get used to. For most of his friends, they’d been in the Thieves for almost the entire time he’d known them.

Either way, those friends were distracted by Morgana’s antics, allowing the couple to spend another moment together unabated. “Sorry.” Akira let out a brief laugh, his bashfulness obvious. “You look stunning.”

Hifumi averted his gaze, too embarrassed to make eye contact. “Thank you. I usually don’t put this much effort into my appearance, but today felt like an exception.” She smiled, still dodging Akira’s eyes. “You look quite good yourself, although your hair is a bit messy. It’s charming on you, though.”

“Oh, come on.” Akira grinned. Though he did deeply feel that her complimentary riposte was entirely unearned on his end, hearing her appreciate him made his heart jump. His messy hair, superfluous glasses, and the gap between his delinquent look and carefree, dorky attitude did give some points in his favor, he supposed. “Well, let’s not make the rest wait too long, hm?” Hand in hand, the two rejoined the rest of their friend group under the shadow of the shrine.

“So, my star, what are you planning to wish for? Any particular blessings you’re hoping to receive?” Akira’s embarrassment had faded, leaving him to be the confident boy he loved to be when his nerves weren’t assaulted by the tender parts of romance.

“I haven’t thought too much about it. Something to help my practice battles go a little smoother. We talked about my wanting to practice more, right? What about yourself?” Hifumi said, hand on her chin.

Doubt crept back into the corners of Akira’s mind. That made some sense, though the wording was strange. She spoke as if her practice was entirely preparatory, not as if she was merely putting her skills back into heavy use, as she ought to say. Other than that, however, she looked entirely as she had before the new year. He couldn’t not be cautious, though. Whatever power was at work had greater scope than just Morgana - Akechi had been involved too. There was no telling what marked the borders of its influence.

“Aha, well, I had to leave so fast I don’t actually have any coins to give. I guess I’ll wish for mercy for my foolishness.” Akira said sheepishly.

Without words, Hifumi pressed a few hundred yen into his hand with a smile. “Go on, you’ve got to have something you want for this year.”

His hesitation defeated by circumstance, he took a second to ponder his wishes for the coming year. There was still so much uncertainty, he had hardly had the time to think of it since the end of the Phantom Thieves. With Shido’s plan foiled, he could likely return to school, but he had no need to wish for spectral assistance in that regard; he would do just fine on his own. There was a particular sword of Damocles hanging over him that he had been able to forget about for quite some time now. Soon, it would be a year from when he arrived in Tokyo, and he would have to return home to the countryside with his “real” family. He hated the idea of being torn away from his friends, Leblanc, and the only place he’d ever truly felt at home. Maybe that would be his wish. No matter how pleasing that would be, he still had to get to the bottom of what had changed in the world. Perhaps he could add that on?

Hifumi dropped a few coins into the offertory box, and he followed suit. His wishes were a little complex, perhaps, but the thrust of them was clear. They stepped to the side, allowing their friends to give their donations as well. Hifumi placed a gentle kiss on his cheek, making his heart flutter again. The dawn of a new year really was a romantic time.

“Well, Hifumi…” Akira said, romantic elements of his personality heightened by the situation. “Do you want to go on a date after we’re done here? I know I kind of screwed up Christmas, so I want to make it up to you.”

“Ah… that’s sweet of you, Akira.” Hifumi’s face had a hint of blush in it. “Unfortunately, I’m busy today. I’m going to spectate a match today. My father is going to try out a radical new strategy I’ve been practicing with him.”

Hifumi’s response hit Akira like a punch to the gut. Whatever power had saved Akechi in the depths of Shido’s ship and transmogrified Morgana had the ability to raise the dead. He wanted to be happy for Hifumi, truly… but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was very, very wrong.

“Akira, are you alright?” Hifumi played with a little piece of his hair. “You look sick. If you need me to take care of you again, I can come by after the match.”

Akira tried to get his bearings. “No, no. I’m fine.” He forced a smile. “Just, uh. Still getting back on my feet after the holiday, y’know? Well, I hope the match goes well. Talk to you tomorrow?”

“That should work.” Hifumi smiled back, and Akira nearly fell over himself trying to get out of the shrine. The rest of his friend group looked on in confusion as he stumbled his way to the entrance, in full panic mode, but he’d always been a little odd.

When he turned the corner, he stopped for a moment, panting. He had to figure out what was causing this. The world was being changed rapidly. Everything he’d heard in that dream… was that the seed that spurred this on, or was it merely an omen? Even if it was the work of some outside force - and plainly, it had to be - maybe it was for the best. Hifumi had her father back, Morgana got his humanity… but what came next? Akira had just fought to take their destiny back into their own hands. Was he willing to give it up just because he liked the initial outcome?

As he attempted to regain his composure as he exited the shrine, he ran into another acquaintance, the gymnast Kasumi Yoshizawa, waiting at the curb. “Ah, Akira!” She shouted in surprise. “Were you also at the shrine?”

“Um… yeah, yeah I was.” Akira still wasn’t put together, but maybe Kasumi would’ve recognized something. “Hey, have you seen anything weird around lately? I just have this feeling that something’s wrong.”

She spent a moment in contemplation. “Well, the shrine was surprisingly empty, but that’s about it. Is it possible you’re just feeling sick?” A car pulled up at the road. “Ah, my father’s here. I’m really sorry to leave so soon, Akira, but I’ve got to go.”

Kasumi’s father rolled a window down to talk to the two. “Ah, this must be the Kurusu I’ve heard so much about. My daughter says you’ve been a great friend for her, especially during her tumultuous move to Shujin.”

“Ah, it’s nothing.” Akira rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

“Well, I still appreciate it. Alright, we have to go. Come on-” The next word flowed naturally, but came out garbled. He meant to say Kasumi, but it didn’t sound right. It didn’t sound like _anything_.

As soon as the Yoshizawa family car was out of view, Akira pulled out his phone. “Akechi? Things keep getting stranger. We need to meet up. I’ll work together with you to figure this out.”

Akechi’s terse tone hissed through the phone speaker. “I knew you’d come to your senses. You’re naive, but you’re still sharp. Meet me at Leblanc later today. We can talk about what we found out.”


	39. Madman's Knowledge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Separated from his friends and with a new group of allies, Akira investigates the strange new world's center.

Akira wanted to be spending today rejoicing in the new year with his friends and then making up for his failure to secure a Christmas reservation. Instead, he was huddled in the laundromat across the street from Leblanc, his former enemy sitting across from him on a washer with a grim pallor on his face. Akira had no desire to be here, but he didn’t feel comfortable around his friends when they were in a compromised state. He was going to figure out what had happened to this world, even if his usual compatriots were otherwise indisposed.

“Alright, Akechi. What have you managed to find out?” Akira asked, furrowing his brow in worry.

Akechi sighed deeply. He was not particularly thrilled at working with Akira himself, but he understood more than anyone he could imagine how deeply disturbing this new reality was. “I’ve been trying to put my own thoughts together, and it just doesn’t make sense no matter how I think about it.” He put his face into his hand. “I remember exactly what happened in that god-forsaken prick’s boat. His cognitive version of me showed up. I shot the emergency button to lower the blast doors so at least _somebody_ would be able to take down Shido. After that, that cognitive puppet shot a bullet through my brain, and everything went dark.”

Akira gave a quick hum of acknowledgement. “And then? I mean, clearly it didn’t kill you, else you wouldn’t be standing here in front of me.”

“No!” Akechi lost control of himself for a moment, before returning to his collected but now cold self. “That’s what you don’t understand. I _did_ die.” After getting no response but Akira’s eyes significantly widening, Akechi continued. “After that shot from my cognitive double, I remember nothing. I didn’t exist. Until a small bit of time before when I interrupted you and Niijima-san on Christmas. In between those moments, there’s nothing. It was like I didn’t exist. Based on the facts, I’m convinced I didn’t.”

Akira’s shock hadn’t faded. “You know, normally I’d say you were crazy. But I actually had a similar experience recently. I couldn’t wrap my mind around it, but it sounds very similar to what you’re talking about.”

Akechi tented his fingers. “Go on. This could be the key to finding the cause of this… necromancy.”

Akira closed his eyes, remembering that dream he’d had only this morning. “After defeating Yaldabaoth Christmas night, I went home with Hifumi. I fell asleep in her arms…”

“Spare me the sappy details, lover boy.” Akechi spat out.

Akira huffed, but continued. “Well, I fell asleep then, and only woke up this morning. While I slept, I heard all my friends talking about their troubles. Once I woke up, everything had changed. Morgana was human, and Hifumi’s dad came back to life. Barely anyone seemed to worry about how long I slept.” Akira shrugged. “Does that help?”

Akechi thought for a moment. “It’s an interesting coincidence at the very least. It seems difficult for it to not be connected, but there are some differences. We should look further into this…”

Akechi was interrupted by a ring from Akira’s phone. Despite Akechi’s glare, Akira answered immediately.

“Senpai?” The distinctive voice of Kasumi came through the phone speaker, audible to both of the boys communing in the laundromat. “There’s a problem. I’m in Odaiba right now, and… it’s hard for me to explain what I’m seeing. Can you come see this for yourself? I feel like I’m losing my mind.”

Akira nodded to Akechi. “I’ll be there soon, Kasumi.” The phone clicked. “How much do you want to bet whatever this is will have an impact on our current situation?”

Akechi rolled his eyes. “Loath as I am to get involved in your friendships, I can’t deny the timing seems fortuitous. I’ll go.”

Akira headed out for the train station with a sprint, Akechi following behind at a leisurely pace. Cut off from his other allies by the flow of fate in this new world, Akira had to work with what he had to rescue the world he once knew… assuming he ended up wanting to. After all, perhaps this was all truly benign. Either way, he had to find out who was behind this first.

* * *

They didn’t need to know from Kasumi that something was wrong in Odaiba when they got off the train. Akira had been here not long ago, hand in hand with Hifumi, using the island view to soothe the fear of Shido’s reprisal with the salve of love. The Odaiba he saw before him was not the Odaiba of that day. Even on the outskirts of the island, a faint blue glow could be seen emanating from its center. As the two rivals made allies by necessity headed for the location Kasumi had sent over text, that light became more pervasive. Furthermore, the faces of passersby seemed fixed into haunting rictuses that almost mimicked smiles, though they fell short in a way that made them seem even more discomforting than a frown might’ve. The buildings were choked by tendrils reminiscent of the vessels that fed the Grail. Worst of all, no one but the two of them along with Kasumi seemed to notice.

“I am now all but certain that we will find something responsible for all this in Odaiba.” Akechi said, smirking.

“Is that the kind of trenchant insight that earned you the title ‘Detective Prince’?” Akira replied smugly, gesturing to the state of the world around them.

“Ah, senpai! You’re here!” Kasumi ran over to the two of them, visibly afraid. “You see this too, right?” She gestured up to the construction site of the Odaiba stadium, which had been replaced with a labyrinthine, wispy tower extending into the heavens. Just as vessels led to the Grail, the tentacles that had poisoned Odaiba led here.

“I sure do.” Akira said, mouth agape. “You know what this is, right?” He turned to the side to ask Akechi.

“It’s a Palace. Yet we’re in reality.” Akechi was just as stunned.

Kasumi stared a moment at Akira’s companion, trying to place his face. After a bit of contemplation, she recognized him. “You’re detective Goro Akechi! I saw you on all the morning shows a few months ago! Are you a friend of Akira’s?” She was beaming.

Akechi snarled. “I’d rather not talk about that time, if you please.” 

“O-oh.” Kasumi was taken aback. She whispered into Akira’s ear. “Is he just like this until you get to know him?”

Akira shook his head. “No, he’s always like this. You just get used to dealing with him when you have to. Like now.”

Akechi forced his way back into the conversation. “Well, Akira, if this is truly a Palace, you and I both know what we have to do.”

“Hold on. We don’t know who owns this palace or what their plans are. We shouldn’t go in assuming we have to destroy it.” Akira replied.

Akechi hissed back, forcing out a few more words for Akira. “If you choose to live in some deluded fantasy where this new world is preferable for now, that’s your prerogative, as long as you’re on my side once you figure it out.”

Despite their differences, Akira and Akechi began to approach the entryway to the gleaming palace. Akira was held back by a tug at his coat.

“Wait. I want to come too.” Kasumi said. 

Akira raised a finger to object, but looking at Kasumi’s pleading face, he knew he wouldn’t make much headway. “Please, stay behind us at the very least. It could be very dangerous in there.”

“Understood.” With a nod, Kasumi followed the two into the palace that had fused itself between cognition and reality.

* * *

The footsteps of the three palace explorers echoed off of every polished wall and ceiling of the palace’s foyer. Their surroundings were eggshell white, as sterile as a hospital. The silence was unnerving.

“Stop!” Akechi whispered, and the three hid behind a doorway. “Cognitive beings.”

Akira prayed they weren’t noticed, as he had no desire to fight in the Metaverse. He wasn’t even sure if his Persona would still respond. After Christmas, it hadn’t, but they were back in the Metaverse, so there was a chance.

A haunting, unsteady statement came from the room ahead. One of the squid-like cognitive beings - a doctor, perhaps, by its outfit - was speaking to them. “We know you are here, Kurusu. Akechi. Yoshizawa.” Akira felt his blood freeze, but the mysterious voice continued. “The master of this place says you can explore it as you wish. He knows you will come to the same conclusions as him.”

They abandoned their failed strategy of hiding, fully revealing themselves to the palace’s minions that already knew they were there. The palace’s denizens didn’t speak again to the interlopers, but didn’t fight back, either. The three were free to wander.

“This place is enormous.” Akira still felt awed by the discovery of a new palace, even after all the ones he had seen. The insides of people’s psyche could build structures in a manner much more impressive than any earthly architect.

“Stay focused. We need to find the owner of this place.” Akechi said.

The halls they ventured through led them through a waiting room and into an area hidden from public viewing, filled with screens. As they walked by, those screens hummed to life.

“She died… to save me. It’s all my fault! It’s all my fault! I should’ve been the one to die!” Emotional, tortured wails came out of the first screen, along with a video of a busy crosswalk.

Akira and Akechi examined the footage, searching for a clue. Behind them, Kasumi covered her face, turning shades paler.

Their walk continued, and the next screen lit up. “I can’t live with her dead! I can’t accept that her dreams are lost because of me!” Kasumi was on the screen, sitting in a chair, pouring her heart out. “I wish I could take her place. She has so much still to realize, and I took that from her.”

Akira turned to Kasumi, who was looking more and more pale as time passed. He put a hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay, Kasumi? Is this a real memory?”  
She nodded, tears falling down her face. Before she could speak, another person interrupted them.

“I can explain.” A calm, measured, polite speaker, dressed in a pristine white suit. Akira knew him - his former therapist, Takuto Maruki. “Yoshizawa-san came to me before I worked at Shujin. She expressed how the death of her sister made it impossible for her to function in society. I was able to help her! With this power I’ve received I was able to let her live her life to the fullest!”

“So it’s you that’s causing this, Dr. Maruki.” Akira said. He wasn’t quite sure how he felt about this. “Are you the reason everything’s been changing? With my friends? With… Hifumi, and her family?”

Maruki was excited. “Yes! I was able to see into your cognition, and I realized what was troubling all of your friends. I’m able to ease their suffering. I can give you the future you’ve dreamed of. You won’t have to be forced back to your family, and you can stay with your friends and your partner. I don’t know who gave me this power, but it’s going to let me get rid of suffering.”

Akira hesitated. “Is that right? Is it right to live in a world that’s false?”

Akechi grabbed him at the shoulder. “Here’s an answer for your philosophical meandering. I’m not going to live as a puppet. I told you that about Shido, and I’ll tell you that about some dressed-up therapist. I live my own life, and die my own way.” He gripped his fingers into Akira’s shoulder.

Maruki smiled, despite the brusque words of Akechi. “I couldn’t ask you to immediately come to terms with this. All I ask is that you spend the next week talking to your friends and seeing how relieved they feel in this new world.” He snapped his fingers, and the world shifted around Kasumi, taking her to Maruki’s side.

“Wait!” Akira raised his hand in worry.

“Don’t fret. She’ll be just fine. She just has to spend some time to recover from seeing that information. She’d repressed it, after all.” Maruki said. With another snap, he and Kasumi both vanished.

“I suppose we have no choice but to see how our friends are dealing with the new world. We won’t be able to make progress into this palace if it becomes hostile with just the two of us.” Akira said with a shrug.

“ _Your_ friends, not mine. Don’t expect me to come to terms with this. If you choose to join me, tell me then. Otherwise, I’ll do it alone.” Akechi said, leaving Akira alone. Akira went home, prepared to spend a week interrogating his friends about their new situation. He wanted to live without suffering, in peace at Hifumi’s side… but was it right to accept a world without strife under the thumb of another?


	40. The Fever Breaks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira starts running through his friends list, begging anyone to remember the past. She has to remember, right, no matter how much it hurts? It's hard to even ask them to give up their perfect future, but he has to.

The week ahead promised a set of painful obligations for Akira. Dr. Maruki had asked him, quite politely for someone with so much power in the current situation, to experience his world for a while and see how his friends had taken to it. With all his allies trapped in the morass of a shifting reality, he had no hope to siege the palace alone, even if he had a mind to. Now, he had to go to his friends, see how their lives were, and decide if the almost certain improvements they’d experienced were worth living in a false reality controlled by one man. They’d said before they wouldn’t live in apathy, but that was under the malign demiurge. Maruki had nothing but good intentions, and that changed the calculus of the situation just enough for doubt to creep into Akira’s mind.

He scrolled through his list of contacts, trying to decide who to contact first. He scrolled quickly past that first contact, pinned in a position of love and admiration directly at the top of the list. He’d told Hifumi that he would talk to her tomorrow yesterday, but it felt awful. From the little she’d said and what Maruki had told him, he could already envision what her life in the new world would be like. There would be no black mark on her record from her mother’s intervention in her matches. Her father was hale and healthy, still at the top of his game. She could progress at her own pace, ferocious in her play but not pushed by outside forces to become something she wasn’t. She would be so much happier in Maruki’s world than the true reality. It felt impossible for him to confront her and ask, no matter how gently, for her to give that up.

At least he was still dating her in her ideal reality. That added a twinge of happiness into this otherwise bleak situation. After all, perhaps in this world he could stay in Tokyo, move in with her…

He couldn’t think about that too long. Before he could decide whether to let the blissful taste of the metaphorical lotus overtake his reticence about living in a world controlled by another, he had to see the impacts on his friends’ lives directly. No matter how much it hurt to see his friends happy in falsehood, he had to look with clear eyes. He would save Hifumi for last, though. It hurt a little too much right now.

* * *

Though he’d been avoiding his girlfriend’s new reality out of fear of being reluctant to pull her out of a truly happy life, it turned out that attempting to reason with the rest of his friends still had its thorns. The great plagiarist Madarame, their second foe and the first who had pre-existing media attention, was free from jail and his career restored. This wasn’t an act of malice, however. History had been rewritten, cognition changed, such that Ichiryusai Madarame had never done such a thing. He was an honest, changed man, and a good mentor for Yusuke. Akira had come to visit Yusuke at one of Madarame’s exhibits to see the new reality in action.

“Ah, Akira!” Yusuke excitedly clasped his hands as he saw his friend enter the exhibit. “I’m glad you were able to come!” He bowed slightly, smiling. “I’m not sure what you’ve been up to this winter break, but I’m pleasantly surprised you made time for this.”

“I mean, I’m not sure what else I would do.” Akira mumbled out. He realized he needed to be far more enthusiastic. No one else realized there was anything wrong. “Ah, I’m happy to, Yusuke. You’ve been excited for this for a while, right?” He had no idea if Yusuke had or not, as he had only piecemeal knowledge of this world’s history, but it seemed likely.

Madarame replied before Yusuke had the chance to. “Ah, you must be the Kurusu-kun that Yusuke has spoken of so frequently. You’ve been a great inspiration to him. I must thank you. Since he’s met you, he’s done some of his best work.”

Akira was a little taken aback. He and Yusuke had spoken before about art, and Akira had even assisted on a few of his projects, especially when he sought inspiration from the Metaverse. Despite that, there was a new little bit of joy in hearing he’d caused some inspiration among his friends. He hoped that was already present and not a creation of some new reality.

Akira politely thanked Madarame, before asking for a moment for the two of them to speak alone. The artist obliged, and Yusuke and Akira were able to steal away to a quieter part of the exhibit. Akira’s mood turned from faux enthusiasm to firm seriousness, though he tried his best to avoid seeming fatalistic.

“Yusuke… how have things been for you lately?” Akira’s gaze was focused and piercing. It was probably a little unnerving, but he needed to make clear the seriousness of the matter.

Yusuke thought for a moment. “I suppose I’ve been quite good. This exhibit of Madarame-sensei’s is going quite well. I hope soon I’ll be able to put on one of my own. So all in all, I think I can say I’m quite happy with the current state of affairs.” His brow furrowed. “Why do you ask. Is something amiss?”

Akira wasn’t sure how to respond. Of course something was amiss. It was obvious. He said all he could think of without beating Yusuke over the head. “Aren’t you forgetting something, Yusuke?”

“Hm? No, I don’t-” Yusuke’s eyes went wide. “I remember… something. Madarame… this exhibit… but I…” After that, Yusuke visibly tensed up, eyes falling to the floor. “I should go, Akira. I can’t stay away from the exhibit for too long.” 

Before he fled the scene, Akira called after him. “I’ll be waiting for you. You know where.” After that, Yusuke was gone, and he was alone again.

That reaction from Yusuke proved he’d remembered it. He had suddenly fallen from a halcyon paradise back into the reality they had shared mere weeks ago. Unfortunately, he could have little further impact. Yusuke would have to come to his own conclusions about this new world, and whether or not he would accept it or fight for his old world.

Akira still had yet to find an answer to that for himself.

* * *

Each day dug in a little deeper. He made an effort each day to see one of his friends, guided to their location by the now human Morgana. Invariably, their lives were greatly improved significantly. Haru’s father was brought back from the grave, an honorable businessman with no aspiration to sell his daughter’s life away. Ann and Shiho were unharmed, free to live out their days in peace together, without Shiho’s injuries or moving away. Futaba was the most fortunate of the erstwhile Thieves. Her mother Wakaba Isshiki, killed for her cognitive psience research, was resurrected as many of the other Thieves’ family had been. For her, this had a dual benefit. With Wakaba back, Futaba had the pleasant family life that they all deserved but she hadn’t had for so long. Every one of them had their issues that had led to their current suffering dealt with, but Futaba’s gave even more.

Each of his conversations ended the same way. As gently as he could, Akira brought up that something was just a little off. As soon as he brought that up, their gaze would flit away, the blood would drain from their face, and inevitably, they’d come up with some excuse to exit the conversation and leave Akira alone again. They all knew. With a little prodding, they’d remember, and realize the world they were living in was fake. Still, he was waiting to hear from them. He always told them he’d be waiting.

Now, his contact list only contained one person he hadn’t yet contacted. He swallowed his nervousness. He had to do it. This was far from the hardest thing he’d done. It just felt so much more personal.

“Hifumi, can we talk today? I’d like to meet you at Leblanc, if possible.” He typed it and sent it out, then closed his eyes. The die was cast.

The reply was immediate. “Sure, Akira. Is everything alright? Listen, we can talk when I get there. I’ll be there soon.” 

After thirty minutes of tense waiting, Hifumi ascended the stairs to Akira’s attic hideout, just as she had many times before. As she saw her boyfriend, she suddenly furrowed her brow. He was visibly nervous, unable to hide his anxiety as he could for his other friends. He was too close to her, had too many dreams of their future together. He looked like a man who was stuck at a crossroads, and though she hadn’t yet figured out what he was worried about, she wanted more than anything to help.

“Akira… What on Earth has been happening to you? I thought everything was fine until that day at the shrine, and you look now just like you did then.” She clasped her hands around his, her eyes tearing up. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No, my star. I’m sorry for worrying you. I promise, you haven’t done anything wrong.” He inhaled a sharp breath. He had to just spill it. There was no use dancing around it. She knew him better than anyone else at this point. She’d know if he was holding back. “You know, right? Please, you have to recognize that something’s changed.”

Hifumi’s eyes went wide. Akira had seen this reaction before. His heart sank.

“I… I’m not sure what you’re talking about.” Hifumi’s words were stumbling, nervous. Just like the rest, she couldn’t meet his eyes.

Akira couldn’t sit back like he had for the others. He leaned forward with a jolt, his eyes also welling up now. “No! Please! I can tell, you realize it! I just need to feel like I’m not crazy!”

A few tears ran down Hifumi’s cheeks. “No, you’re right.” She wiped her eyes on the shoulder of Akira’s shirt. “Of course I know. How could I not? It’s just hard to look away from. I woke up one morning and almost everything I ever wanted was in my hands. Dad was back. You were still by my side. I was free from all those old stigmas because of my mother’s actions.” The tears were about to start flowing again.

“I understand. That’s why I was reluctant to talk to you.” Akira pulled her closer, wrapping an arm around her gently. “I just felt you needed to know that the world had changed if you weren’t aware. Now that you are, you should also know that I’ve found the cause of it. That’s why I came to you. I’m not sure whether it’s okay to live in a world that’s controlled solely by my therapist. It feels fraudulent.”

Hifumi raised an eyebrow in puzzlement, then decided she’d get the fine details out of Akira later. “I understand. Is this a Palace too?”

Akira nodded. “Did you get the Metaverse Navigator back too?”

Hifumi took out her phone and pointed to an icon on the home page. “On the way over here, yeah. I’m not sure why it reacted like that, but…” She trailed off.

“Well. You know pretty much the gist of it. I don’t know if I can live in a world that’s built on gossamer like this. That said, I care about you more than anyone. I can’t ask you to give up your happiness for me.” Akira said.

Hifumi sat in silence for a bit, fidgeting and focusing on the steady breathing of Akira. Soon, she spoke again, barely above a whisper. “It’s really hard to decide, but… if all of this is just created by one person, like you said, it’s hardly a reality at all.” She sat up a little bit. “No matter how desperately I want it to be.”

Hearing that was bittersweet for Akira. Someone else was finally understanding his inner conflict. Despite that, it sounded like her mind was being made up, and it would mean she would have to throw away all the happiness Maruki’s world had given her. Perhaps it was for the best, but there was no guarantee.

“Does that mean what I think it means, then?” Akira asked, still cuddling Hifumi close to him.  
She didn’t answer directly, but the thrust of her words was clear. “The biggest concern for me is my father. I love him dearly. I don’t want to see him go if we reject this reality. But I loved the real him, and I’m not sure this is the same person. It’s all a little too perfect.” She clasped Akira’s hand again and looked into his eyes. “There’s going to be trouble in the real world. I’ll get through it with you. I don’t want to live in a fairy tale, no matter how blissful. I want to fight by your side.”

“You’re sure?” Akira replied.

“Positive.” With that word from Hifumi, the air around the two eased some. It felt a little less choking. The cognitive control over them and their lives was weakened, for a time.

Akira stood up, pulling Hifumi up with him. His tone was still somber, but now had a hint of resolution in it. They had taken their world back once. They could do it again. “Should we contact the others? They deserve to make their choice like you did.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone is still enjoying, especially as we get closer to the end (of the canon story, though I'm definitely planning a post-canon sequel.) Wanted to let people know there's a chance of a small delay, I'm going through another bad mental health patch. As always, I want to try to keep my uploads consistent but wanted to let you know in case I'm not able. Thank you for understanding and reading. :)


	41. Violet Petals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His friends freed from delusion, Akira begins an assault on the Palace that is changing reality. Within, they pull yet another from the grip of the lotus.

With a few calls and the serendipitous benefit of Sojiro being out of the cafe with Wakaba, the lower floor of Leblanc was prepared to once again fall into its role as the hideout of the Phantom Thieves. Whether that came to pass or not would depend on whether the rest of the Thieves were willing to turn away from a constructed paradise for the harsh bitterness of reality as Akira and Hifumi had. Akira didn’t want to pressure the remnants of the Thieves into working against that reality, but he knew if they went against Maruki and succeeded, the result would strip that bliss from the others no matter what. Maybe they’d understand. It felt cruel to ask them to give up so much, but Akira wouldn’t look away from the truth. He wouldn’t be ruled by another. His friends would surely understand.

Akira’s friends had assembled once more, just like before the reality shift. With a lump in his throat, Akira had to begin to make a plea to them to remember what life was like before Maruki took control. He glanced over to Hifumi. She replied with a gentle smile. His friends had never wanted him to be dishonest before. He could be frank with them now.

“Everyone, I need you to be honest with me.” Akira cast his voice out to his collected accomplices. “I know you remember what things were like beforehand. I’ve seen it in your eyes when I brought it up with you. I know it isn’t easy to face the truth, but as your leader…” He paused a moment. “As your friend. I want you to be honest with me, and yourselves.”

The room had an uncomfortable energy. A silence hung in the air for some time, as Akira looked on at his friends. Finally, one of them reacted.

“I know.” Futaba said. “I was just so thrilled to have my mom back, I was willing to overlook it. Everything felt so peaceful. I never had to worry about any of my old doubts creeping back in.”

Makoto and Haru, who had sat on both sides of her, put hands on her shoulders to comfort her. Futaba started to cry.

“Futaba… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-” Akira started to apologize.

“It’s okay.” Futaba began to collect herself, still bolstered on both sides by the support of her fellows. 

“It’s okay to be upset. I… I’m asking you to give up a lot. I’m asking that of all of you.” Akira said.

“It’s so hard to give up!” Futaba wailed. “But if I’m willing to accept this altered world… I’m just believing in lies again, aren’t I?”

“I don’t want to force you to make a decision. It’s up to you guys.” Akira said. He was starting to get nervous.

“I’m not going to lie to myself again!” Futaba hit the table. “I know it’ll hurt to look away, but I want to live the truth!”

“I agree.” Makoto chimed in, still holding onto Futaba. “There is no point in living in a world that only exists through force.”

A few more nodded heads and murmurs, and the group was set. The Phantom Thieves had reconvened for a final mission, albeit the fourth consecutive mission that had been given such a distinction. Hifumi went up to Akira and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. Together, the Thieves headed for Odaiba. As they crossed the threshold from Leblanc to the outer world, they felt the atmosphere of Maruki’s world shatter. They had truly rejected it. Now they had to fight back for a world that would cause them pain, but would offer them the truth. It hurt to look away, but it might hurt more to live under the thumb of another for the rest of time.

* * *

“I’m glad you all finally wised up.” Akechi leaned against a wall across from the stadium construction site in Odaiba. His tone conveyed a sense of derision, but there was a hint of relief on his face he was trying to hide. He had promised to go up against Maruki no matter the decision of Akira and the Thieves, but it couldn’t be argued that the might of a single Persona-user paled in comparison to that of an experienced, organized group.

“Wait, he’s here? And… alive?” Ryuji shouted, puzzled. “How?”

Akira opened his mouth to try to explain, but Akechi had a riposte ready before he was able. “Oh, it’s certainly bizarre, I can’t deny. I have my own personal pet theories, but that’s not what we should focus on. We have a Palace to explore. Isn’t that right, Leader?” That last word dripped with condescension, and Akira would’ve taken more offense had he had the time. Instead, they had to move. They never had the luxury of time on their side.

Akechi’s reluctant cooperation added to their arsenal, the Thieves stepped into the stadium and across the now murky border between reality and Metaverse. It had been only a week since Akira had last stepped into Maruki’s Palace, and already its visibility from the real world had greatly strengthened. Akira wasn’t sure how long they had until Maruki’s Palace would fully merge with the real world, as the Prison of Regression had on Christmas Eve, but he suspected they should deal with this sooner rather than later.

The atmosphere inside the Metaverse had shifted subtly. There were even more tendrils flooding in and out of the Palace. As Akira had suspected, this was likely more evidence of the growing strength of Maruki’s control. An even bigger concern was the way the air itself felt heavier, the environment more hostile. Perhaps this was what resulted from them looking away from Maruki’s reality - the center of power of this new world correctly saw them as outsiders, and as such, was desperate to excise them.

The lobbies were deserted. None of the attendant physicians wandered around or greeted the group as they had when Akira had first entered the Palace alongside Akechi and… Yoshizawa. She was still inside. Akira prayed she was alright. She might take the loss of a new reality hardest of all.

The winding hallways led them again to the operating theatre where Akira had met Maruki a week prior. It was still lit up, and the therapist turned demigod still held court in its center. His slicked back hair and perfectly cleaned clothes, combined with his newfound overwhelming confidence, gave him the appearance of a head doctor - with a little bit of additional panache evoking a military commander. Behind him, Yoshizawa - truly Sumire, though she had often styled herself as Kasumi, rested in a chair. The Shadows that had wandered the halls observed from the theatre’s edges.

“Ah.” Maruki turned his attention to the Thieves as they entered. “I suppose I’m not surprised you all were able to remember things. You’re all very strong people, after all.”

“Is Yoshizawa safe?” Akira shouted across the theatre, balling one of his fists. His words echoed around the spacious hall.

“Yes. I wouldn’t want to harm her, or any of you.” Maruki said with a hand over his heart. “Before you do anything, please, I want to ask you again, now that everyone is here. This reality can be the true reality. All you have to do is accept it. You can all have everything you want, and your pain can be washed away! You just have to believe in me!”

Before Akira could respond to Maruki’s pleas, Hifumi was already at his side, shouting back. “No. We can’t accept this reality.” She had her arm linked with Akira’s.

Maruki sighed. “I wish I could understand, but I cannot force you to accept what I can offer. Still, I have no plans on giving up my own goals. I will rescue Kasumi… along with the rest of you. That said, I know what you plan to do. You are the Phantom Thieves, after all.” He chuckled grimly to himself, and with a snap, he vanished. As he left, the Shadows surrounding them similarly disappeared

The theatre now devoid of enemies, Akira rushed to where Yoshizawa lay, his team close behind him. As they approached, the gymnast girl began to awaken.

“Sumire?” Akira asked hesitantly. He wasn’t sure how that would impact things with reality as unsettled as it was.

Yoshizawa stirred, but clutched her hands to her head. “No… no…” She started at a whisper, slowly increasing in volume. Before long, she was screaming, overwhelmed by her thoughts. Her body collapsed to the ground, and the crimson spectre of a princess emerged from her, twisted with rage at the Phantom Thieves. They fell back into a defensive position, ready to fight for the first time in nearly a month. They called, and their Personas came. Their power was back, and they could stand against the Metaverse’s horrors - even when those horrors were born of their friend’s desperation.

“What? Yoshizawa has a Persona?” Futaba said, baffled, from the controls of Necronomicon.

“It looks like it’s going berserk…” Hifumi said, seeing through the eyes of Lucifer. “Get ready, everyone! We haven’t battled in quite some time, but I still have faith in all of you!”

The strikes came in furiously, as Sumire’s sorrows were channeled through her wild Persona, Cendrillon. Akira felt the rhythm of battle flow back into him quickly, though not without incident. One of Cendrillon’s attacks knocked him off balance, drawing blood and forcing his teammates to cover for him. As he fell, Hifumi rushed to his side.

“Joker! Are you okay?” She knelt down at his side, leaning him over onto her to give him some stability. “That hit looked rough, Jok- hold on. Skull, now!” She had seen an opening where Ryuji could attack, and she couldn’t neglect her duties as tactician just because she was concerned for her boyfriend.

Akira grinned back at her. “I’m fine, Star. Just lost my balance a little bit.” He gestured to his leg, which occasionally still had issues from his injuries during the interrogation. With help from Hifumi, he was able to return to his feet, but by that time, the berserking Persona had been defeated. It returned to the body of Sumire, who was beginning to speak once more.

“I… Senpai?” She said, and Akira heeded her call by taking point again.

“You can do this, Sumire.” Akira held out a hand, offering his help. She took it, pulling herself up.

“I have to be strong. I’m… not Kasumi Yoshizawa. I never will be.” She spoke sadly. “The best way I can keep her memory alive is to live as best I can as myself. I am Sumire Yoshizawa.” She looked around at all the Phantom Thieves. “I’m sorry for lying to you, and to myself.” As she finished her sentence, Cendrillon returned, forming a mask around her eyes. She had finally come to terms with her scenario and her Persona.

“We should retreat for today.” Hifumi said, before the group was able to press on. “Sumire is sure to be exhausted if her awakening was anything like mine, and the way Joker landed didn’t look so good. We can start again tomorrow.”

“I suppose, though I assure you I could keep going.” Akira said, though a clutch at his leg caused some doubt about that statement. Despite a bit of grumbling from Hifumi, who still stayed at his side out of worry, Akira continued. “Sumire, I know it may be a big ask, but would you like to join us? You have a Persona, and…”

Sumire cut him off. “Yes! Absolutely! I want to help you, Senpai. I want to honor Kasumi’s memory. I want to live the truth.”

Akira smiled. “I’m glad to hear it. Do you have a code name you’d like?”

Sumire nodded firmly. “Violet, if you please?”

“That works.” Akira agreed, and the group prepared to leave the Palace.

There were still a few things to manage once they had left Maruki’s domain, and Hifumi felt the desire to help Akira out. The injury didn’t look like much, but after all he’d been through, she wanted to ease his burdens where she could. “Makoto, could you make sure Sumire gets home safe? I’ll do the same for Akira.”

Makoto obliged. “Of course. You’re quite the leader when you want to be, Hifumi. Akira really rubbed off on you.”

Hifumi giggled, then with a wave, led Akira away towards Yongen-Jaya.

Once they were out of vision of the rest of the Thieves, Akira surprised Hifumi with a hug. “Thank you for the help, my star. It means a lot to me.”

“Of course, Akira. I promised to be at your side always, did I not? Come on, you need to get home and rest. There’s a lot left to do in that Palace, Leader.” She couldn’t get in the right orientation for a real kiss while walking with him, but she punctuated that message with a blown one. Any expression of her love felt just as good to Akira, anyhow.


	42. The Melancholy of Maruki Takuto

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira and Hifumi reunite, free from the shackles of Maruki's falsehoods and ready to invade his Palace in earnest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick note: I shuffled some of the stuff in Maruki's Palace around because I thought it made the story flow better. So don't worry about Maruki's past, that's included, just in the next chapter.

After taking Akira home, Hifumi could hardly leave her boyfriend alone. Their Christmas date, while imperfect, had been one of the sweetest moments in Hifumi’s life. In a perfect world, the two of them would be enjoying each other’s company, finally free of the obligations that their otherworldly escapades had placed on them for so long. Looking outside, she realized it might be more accurate to say that would happen in an imperfect world. This one was far too artificial.

Instead, the two had just returned from their foray into yet another ethereal obstacle course. This one promised to be their last, but so had the last several. Hifumi desperately wished for the two of them to have some time where they could spend life together as a normal couple. Idly, she wondered what future their relationship might have should they stay in Maruki’s reality. Would their romance blossom even further, and lead to them living a comfortable life after a romantic wedding? It was certainly too early to consider such things, but the idea did have an appeal. Those things would have to wait until the future, however. It was also possible that with their troubled pasts unwritten, their relationship would slowly wither and die. After all, their romance was forged after Hifumi’s issues with her mother were resolved. It seemed unlikely - after all, Maruki did promise a world where none of them would suffer, and Hifumi could surely not imagine leaving her and Akira’s relationship without suffering. It couldn’t be neglected, however.

She shook the thoughts from her mind. There was no use dwelling overlong on hypotheticals about Maruki’s reality. They had chosen to reject it. She had no plans to go back on that decision. Seeing the way Akira had stood up to a world he knew was wrong was the part of him that lit a spark in her heart all that time ago. In the confrontation within the operating theatre, she saw those same qualities. Better yet, she was able to channel them into herself. That was the best part of their relationship - they taught each other, they grew from each other, and they became stronger, both on the shogi board and in their souls.

She did have a few things to say to Akira. Principally, an apology. Despite her coming to her senses, she had still left Akira alone, adrift in a strange new reality that few of them understood. Perhaps she could be excused, and perhaps he would even excuse her himself, but her heart still ached. She had to say something, at the very least.

Akira lay before her in his tiny bed. He had wrapped himself in his duvet, snuggling into bed. Despite his leg injury flaring up and all the other events of the day, he wore a smile on his face. His eyes were closed, and his glasses were askew below his messy hair. It was always an interesting experience when Hifumi paid particular attention to Akira’s differences between his normal life and in the Metaverse. As Joker, he was an imposing, chaotic figure ready to strike down Shadows at any time. In the real world, Akira was a cute, dorky boy who frequently seemed overwhelmed. Both those aspects of his personality were incredibly cute, luckily. She felt extremely blessed.

She gently nudged Akira through the blanket, making sure he wasn’t asleep. He grumbled slightly, disturbed from a comfortable place between rest and wakefulness, though not at all upset given the identity of the interloper. It took another soft push from Hifumi before he was fully ready to converse, but despite his bleary eyes, he wore a smile on his face.

“What’s going on, my star?” Akira asked, straightening out his glasses.

“Ah…” Hifumi’s words caught in her throat. This was tough to talk about. “I’m sorry, Akira. I’m sorry for letting myself get wrapped up in a false reality for so long.” 

Akira was puzzled. “You don’t need to apologize.” He unwrapped himself from his blanket, suddenly realising the conversation was going to get serious. “Almost anyone would’ve let themselves fall into that reality. It was perfect. It was designed to be.” He sighed deeply. “Honestly, I’m still not sure we’re making the right decision. If you guys weren’t willing to give it up, I probably would’ve just gone along with it, no matter how it made me feel.”

“Wouldn’t you have been disappointed?” Hifumi said, her voice starting to fall.

“I don’t know. If I gave in, eventually Maruki’s powers would start doing work on my life, surely. Maybe it would’ve been worth it. I don’t know.” Akira paused a moment. “We are doing the right thing, yeah? We could still change our minds.”

“I think we are. You were very passionate, and I think you made some good points.” Hifumi grabbed Akira’s forearm, meeting his eyes. “I want to fight alongside you. I trust you. You trust me too, yeah?”

Akira nodded. He had a little bit of a smile on his face. “Yeah. Of course. More than anyone.”

“Then we can get through this together. No need for doubt anymore.” Hifumi smiled back.

At that moment, their commitments reaffirmed, Hifumi felt the world around her fade out as she had twice before. Lucifer stood before her in the void of reality, the mask of her soul. This time, however, he was not alone. Her first Persona, Mitsuhide, joined Lucifer, and in a flash of light, the two fused. When the light faded, a new being emerged, with blinding white wings.

In a clear voice, it spoke to her. “I am Helel, the true form. If you wish to return to a true reality, I will grant you that power.” A feather from its wings fell as it returned to her soul. She didn’t feel tired, as she had from previous awakenings. She felt determined, fulfilled. This was it. She had to keep going.

The world returned, and Akira still lay before her, a hint of worry still visible on his face. Hifumi grabbed his hand, clutching onto it tight, seeking to allay that fear.

“Together. We can do this, General Kurusu.” She said.

Akira laughed, then returned the gesture. The doubt was gone from his eyes. He was fully convinced. “Together.”

* * *

In the morning, Akira’s leg was ready to go - or at least he claimed it was. The Thieves had gathered in their hideout, planning with haste as every second gave Maruki a little more cognitive control over their world. With a few preliminary plans drawn on a hastily constructed map borne from the memories of Sumire, Akechi, and Akira, they set off. As they ventured to Odaiba to begin their sortie, it was impossible to miss the smiles of all the passersby. A few would have pleasant, knowing the truth, the hundreds were haunting.

Soon, they were back in the belly of the beast. Moving through the increasingly corrupted Odaiba, a quick tap on the Metanav sent them back into Maruki’s Palace. It still gleamed, towering above the landscape as a monument to Maruki’s ideal future for everyone. They would have to tear this place down for reality.

This time, the Shadows were swarming. They could hardly hope to waltz through unattacked as they had in their previous incursions. The palace had felt their hostility last time, but Maruki still wanted to negotiate. Now, he knew they were coming for his heart, and the Shadows reacted as such. Making their way through this palace would require them to cut down hordes of the synthetic monsters that made the laboratory of sorrow their home, either by choice or because Maruki had created them.

As the fields of Shadows began to abate, the Phantom Thieves found themselves in a strange room deeper within. This area contained cognitive mimics of humans, and they were not immediately hostile. Instead, the cognitive beings mingled, walking around a waiting room complete with uncomfortable-looking chairs and plastic plants. At the other end of the room stood a terminal and two elevators, marked with pictures resembling humans.

“Where are we?” Akira asked, wondering aloud as his eyes traced the room. It superficially resembled a psychologist’s office, which made sense given Maruki’s profession. Still, few of the offices he’d ever seen contained elevators in the waiting room. It was worth investigating.

The din of the cognitions’ idle chatter filling the room, Akira took the lead and brought the group to the computer that stood in front of the elevators. With a tap on its touch screen, a question appeared.

“If one of your friends at school was in danger from a group of shady individuals, would you attempt to save that person yourself with risk of personal injury, or go seek help, although it may come too late?” A much smaller bit of text at the bottom added, “This information will be used to help with your treatment. Please answer honestly.”

Hifumi had been studying the panel alongside Akira, and she began to theorize. “It’s a test to see if you have distorted thoughts. An interesting screening process…”

Futaba, standing in the back, piped up. “I’m doing some scanning, it looks like one of these elevators leads to a Shadow. I can’t tell which one, but I’m certain there’s a wrong choice here.”

“The Shadow probably takes you to some kind of ‘treatment’ if you pick the wrong answer.” Akira replied. “We should be careful. We should avoid as much combat as we can.”

“Well, then obviously we should pick the one where you save your friend. Easy.” Ryuji said, confidently.

“Hold on. We need to consider how Maruki will think.” Makoto jumped in. “Akira, you have the most experience talking to Maruki. What would he do?”

Akira thought for a moment, but the conclusion was obvious. “Maruki would go get help, I think. He always wanted to be the person others would go get help from.” Akira shrugged. Going off of his best guess, the Thieves took the appropriate elevator, and ended up in another waiting room. They were right, at least this time.

Another tap, and the next question came up on another screen. “Suppose you have a dream that you have focused on for a great deal of your life. You have poured much of your time and effort into this dream, but you can’t seem to cause it to come to pass, to the point where it’s causing you grief. Should you continue work at your current pace, do everything it takes, or give up on this dream and work on something new?” The same disclaimer adorned this screen as well.

Sumire shouted at the panel. “Do whatever it takes! You can’t just give up because things get hard!”

Akira felt a grim realization coming on. “If the dream isn’t coming to pass, and it’s causing the person with the dream to worry… I think I know what Maruki’s answer is.” He pointed a finger at the stick figure drawing giving up.

“That’s awful. I’ve had so many issues with shogi… of course they’ve caused me grief.” Hifumi responded. “But I never want to give up. I’m going to make it through!”

“I agree.” Yusuke added. “I’ve had many issues in my art career, but that doesn’t mean I should give up. This is my passion.”

“I feel more and more vindicated about our decision to reject this reality as we progress.” Akira said with a sigh. Dr. Maruki had good intentions, surely, and he had been a good therapist. Despite that, a world in which Yusuke wasn’t an artist… a world in which his girlfriend gave up the game she’d devoted herself to… they certainly couldn’t be happy in that world without having their thoughts changed by an outside influencer. He couldn’t accept that.

The group chose that answer that was repellent to them but acceptable to the Palace’s owner, and they were let through. They made a mark of this location - the Metanav would likely be able to return them near here, the cognition was weak. Unfortunately, only a little further in, and their progress was blocked. Thick wires barricaded the next door, and fervent efforts to sever them found no purchase. They were stuck.

“Any ideas, anyone?” Akira asked, beleaguered.

“Whenever we’ve encountered obstacles in the past, we’ve had to change something elsewhere, right?” Ann hypothesized.

“I’m not sure what we’d change in Maruki’s life that would affect this, though…” Akira said.

“Mementos!” Morgana shouted in a eureka moment. “We haven’t been back there since Maruki took over, right? Maybe there will be something there!”

“Will that really cause an effect on this Palace?” Futaba asked the cat-thief.

“It could. After all, Maruki’s Palace is merging with reality. The consciousness of the public is probably affected.” Morgana said. He sounded a little uncertain, but they were out of options. They disengaged from the Palace and headed into the labyrinth below the subway.


	43. To the End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mementos and the rest of Maruki's Palace face the Thieves as they come to understand why Maruki is the way he is.

Beginning to feel the exhaustion of exploration but not sure how long they would have before their window to save their reality closed, the Phantom Thieves headed back to the heart of the world. Not long ago they had faced a demigod in the core of this place that had taken control of the world. The same situation transpired now, but their villain had a human face and understandable moral code, but the same reprehensible end goals. They weren’t even sure if Mementos would contain what they needed to push deeper into Maruki’s Palace, but it seemed the obvious place to look. Maruki would certainly have tapped into the cognition of the public in order to change reality.

The combination of the Metanav and Morgana’s transformation into a bus made navigation of the previously explored areas of Mementos a cinch. It was only minutes before the Thieves had reached the cavern at the bottom of the dungeon where they had first met the Holy Grail. It was gone now, of course, but the same tendril-like wires that were all around Odaiba led straight through the area, funneling through a hole in the back of the arena. These wires led back up, into a new place that had been previously undiscovered.

The walls here mimicked those of Maruki’s Palace, cleaned and polished to an unnatural degree. Shadows here were formed of the same ichor that the ones in the laboratory were made from, though they lacked the medical outfits. It was terrifying how quickly Maruki’s power allowed him to form new pathways in the collective unconscious of the city. These halls were just as fully formed as the rest of Mementos, yet they had barely existed for more than a month.

Following the path the wires let them along, the Mona bus soon arrived at their nexus - a room full of whirring gadgets and strange devices that immediately had Futaba intrigued. Screens covered the walls, quickly flashing between different images that appeared to be security camera footage. Some of the images showed higher floors of Mementos, some showed places around Tokyo. Maruki was watching the cognitions of Tokyo to better shape reality for everyone. He meant well, of course, but every time they learned a little more of what he was doing, it seemed a little more worrisome. This level of surveillance was terrifying.

“Aaaaand done.” As the rest of the Thieves had observed the camera feeds, Futaba had been typing away at the consoles, and her progress had been swift. With another button push, the wires began to recede. One by one, the camera screens went dark, and the wires that had extended out from Mementos’ core had been removed from the entryway to this room, and presumably the rest of Tokyo as well.  
“Wow.” Akira was shocked at the speed of the progress. “We should get back, before Maruki comes and reactivates this.”

The Thieves at his back, they returned to the laboratory, hoping to make progress deeper in while they still could.

* * *

Past the cognitive screening rooms, the Thieves passed the formerly blocked door and entered into an area of the Palace that was more secret, meant only for those Shadows who ran the Palace and Maruki himself. The public, and thus the Thieves, were not meant to be here. Here, they would likely be able to find the treasure, or at the very least a path toward it.

The deeper recesses of the Palace were structured less like a treatment facility and more like a research lab, with high-security gates littering the place. The cognition was less “perfect” this far in, however. A few of the rooms ditched the polished appearance of the rest of the laboratory, instead looking like a cross between an abandoned storage room and a den. The front door to the first of these rooms they found was locked, but through the window, they could see a television displaying white noise, surrounded by a pile of knickknacks. Likely, these rooms would give some insight into Maruki’s cognition and help them reach the core.

A few more Shadows dispatched and a lockpick snapped, and the Thieves gained entry to that room. It had a sharply distinct feel from the rest of the Palace, feeling lived in, rich with memory compared to the impersonal chrome finish. Sorting through the pile of detritus, books, and research notes near that filled this little hideaway, something stuck out - a VHS tape. Antiquated technology, but fitting for the earlier years of Maruki’s life. Wordlessly, Akira put it into the slot on the television.

On the screen, a younger Maruki appeared, fresh-faced. He sat at the edge of a hospital bed in a room as clean and clinical as the hallways that lined the public face of his Palace. A young woman lay in the bed, sitting up, though the act seemed to take a fair bit of energy. 

A bittersweet smile on his face, Maruki began to speak. “Good afternoon, Rumi. I’m sorry I didn’t bring anything. Next time, I’ll bring flowers. Or snacks? Maybe both.” Even in the past, Maruki’s little quirks remained the same. “My paper is finished. I think this research is going to be very groundbreaking. Basically,” Maruki’s speech began to quicken. He was getting excited. “I’m developing techniques that’ll allow clinicians to tap into a person’s ‘cognitive world’. With this, we’ll be able to ease suffering, prevent crime… the possibilities are really quite exciting.”

The young woman, Rumi, evidently, reacted with a quiet murmur. Her eyes were fixated onto the middle distance.

Maruki’s put a hand on Rumi’s shoulder. “With this, people like the culprit behind your parents’ murder won’t feel the distorted desires to do such things anymore!”

That got Rumi’s attention. Hearing that caused her to snap free of the strange state she was in, and clutch Maruki’s hand. “Please! I want my family back! I want to… forget…”

His girlfriend in a panic, Maruki furrowed his brow, then squinted his eyes in pain. “Oh god, these migraines are-”

He was cut off by an ethereal voice. Each of the Thieves recognized the manner in which it spoke, though they knew not the identity. It was a Persona, or something quite like that. They’d all heard the same sort of voices. In a deep, echoing voice, it spoke to Maruki. “I can grant you this wish. I will grant you the power to change reality.”

Sunlight from the window glinted off of Maruki’s glasses. “I can save Rumi from her suffering. I can save anyone from their suffering! Please, I accept your gift!”

With a deep laugh from the disembodied voice, the world shook for a moment. When it ceased, Rumi’s eyes had lost their sunken pallor, and she seemed less tense. Quizzically, she looked up at Maruki. “Sorry, who are you?”

“Rumi, it’s me! Takuto?” Maruki replied, confused.

“I’m sorry. I don’t really know who you are. I’ve just gotten out of surgery. I think you may have the wrong room.” Rumi smiled politely, though she was clearly equally, if not moreso, confused by the situation.

Maruki realized what had happened. Replying to Rumi’s smile with a sad one of his own, he stood up. “You must be right. I’m sorry.” When he exited the room, he leaned against the wall for just a moment. “She’s happy now. I don’t care if it’s without me.” With that, the tape faded back into static.

“So that’s where this all started.” Hifumi said. “I can’t deny it’s a noble goal. He’s a noble man. I just cannot agree with his end goals.”

Akira nodded. “It’s hard to say what I’d do if I was in his shoes.” He had had his doubts about whether he should let Hifumi stay in a world with both her parents, and she hadn’t taken the loss quite as hard as Maruki’s fiancee had. It was quite the tricky situation.

The Thieves moved deeper into the labyrinthine research area of the Palace. A gate that blocked their path asked them to elucidate about the Palace owner’s past. With the name “Rumi”, they were through the door, finding yet more offices and yet more tapes. Popping in the first, they were treated to a display of the same young Maruki at a bar with another young man.

“They pulled my funding.” Maruki said. From the tone of his voice and the way his speech slurred together, he was tipsy at the very least. “Those goddamn investors say there’s no ‘physical evidence’ of what I’m working on!”

The other young man shared Maruki’s intensity. “It’s bullshit. We both know your paper is going to break ground.”

“Yeah. I’m a little lost, to tell you the truth. I just can’t give up.” Maruki collapsed onto the table, tears in his eyes. The tape cut.

“So even Maruki doesn’t want to give up his dreams. Kinda hypocritical, don’t you think?” Ryuji asked the group at large.

Sumire shook her head. “I think he’s willing to put any amount of burden on himself if he thinks it’ll remove the suffering from others. That’s the vibe I got from him, at least.”

Akechi glared at Akira, tapping his wrist impatiently. “We need to hurry up, it’s getting late. Put in the next tape.”

With a huff, Akira obliged, and the television set sprang to life once more. This time, they were peering into Maruki’s private practice, and their own Sumire Yoshizawa was the patient.

The young gymnast spoke in a flat affect, a far cry from the chipper Sumire they knew or even the Kasumi that Akira had known before the truth was revealed. “I don’t know how to go on without her. I just want her to be able to realize her dreams…”

“It’s not so wrong to want to emulate someone else.” Maruki said. “In fact, if you want to live as Kasumi, you could.”

“Really? Please!” Sumire begged, energy flooding into her voice.  
With another shake of reality, cognition changed. The Yoshizawa in front of him now saw herself as Kasumi to her core. She seemed so much happier afterward. The tape faded for the last time.

Sumire spoke up as the tape ended. “I was so weak then. I don’t want to go back to that.”

Futaba, who had approached Sumire in order to act as a comforting hand, tried to keep up her spirits. “You’re stronger now. Don’t worry. You can live your truth.”

“Thank you, Futaba-senpai.” Sumire replied quietly.

“No senpai!” Futaba grumbled. Amidst the chatter, the group moved on, reaching a promising door deep within the Palace.

Opening the door made it clear they were close to the center. Instead of the eternal hallways they had trudged through, this door opened onto a garden built into a tree, extending into the sky. A beam of light in the center carried souls up from the ground.

“So, I think we found the Treasure location?” Akira remarked.

The rest of the group agreed. All they had left was to make Maruki aware they were coming - easier said than done, but Akira had a feeling he’d see Maruki again soon. After all, even when they had found Sumire, Maruki had still held out hope that they’d agree to his reality. They would meet again.

* * *

A few nights later, before anxiety had a chance to set in, Maruki made an appearance at Leblanc. Akira was cleaning the dishes from the day’s customers, and had neglected to lock the door. This was fortuitous. While his body may have involuntarily tensed when he saw his therapist-turned-enemy, he had a piece of unsettled business.

“May I come in? I don’t want to intrude.” Maruki was apologetic, despite the conflict they both knew was brewing. Akira gestured to a seat, and Maruki sat as he continued talking. “I don’t suppose I could ask you again to accept this reality?”

Akira abandoned his post at the sink and faced Maruki. “I guess you’re aware of our progress in the palace?”

“It’s hard not to be.” Maruki sighed. “You’re all very tenacious. I wish you’d understand that tenacity is part of why you’re suffering. I want to help you!”

“I simply can’t live in a world like that. I can’t give up on my dreams, no matter how much they may cause me pain.” Akira said. He conjured his friends in his mind. He envisioned Hifumi, a few years in the future, once again triumphant at a shogi table. “We can’t accept this.”

Maruki stood. “I see. Well, we both know what comes next. I believe you have something for me?”

Akira pulled a red card out of his shirt pocket and handed it to Maruki. Maruki didn’t even read it. Instead, he immediately replied, “I’ve heard your calling,” and turned to leave. 

Before he left, Akira called after him. “I’m really sorry your research got cut. It didn’t seem fair.”

Maruki chuckled dryly. “It certainly wasn’t ideal. I managed to finish it, though, thanks to your help. I actually was showing it to my old professor at Christmas, and then the world went red and chaotic, and I suddenly could fully realize my powers. That was you guys too, right? Well, I guess you probably don’t care to hear about that.”

Akira wasn’t sure how to respond, and had no choice but to let Maruki go. He had still held some naive hope Maruki would give up, but of course he wouldn’t after being on the precipice of victory after so many setbacks. Akira wouldn’t give up in the same position.

With that, the stage was set. With a quick text to the Thieves, their plan was in motion. They would take Maruki’s treasure and return reality to how it was before, or… Akira didn’t like to think about if they failed.


	44. Snap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final confrontation comes, and everything goes back to normal. Things are finally starting to conclude, for better or for worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final two chapters were originally supposed to be three, but I felt they flowed better as two, so these (this chapter and the next update to come Wednesday) are a little longer. Hope you enjoy!

All the lights were off in Leblanc, yet a glow still emanated from its attic. Akira tossed and turned in bed, staring at his phone screen. The clock in the top right of his phone read 2:37. He couldn’t sleep. Tomorrow - well, today, given that it had passed midnight - they would go up against Maruki, in the core of his Palace. It was hard not to feel some animosity for the man, but it was also difficult not to feel sympathy. He’d worked so hard on his research motivated by an end to human suffering, and while that blinded him to the consequences of such research, it still had honorable aims. For many, this world was better, at least superficially. After tomorrow, all that would vanish. Akechi might vanish entirely, given that his resurrection was a result of Maruki’s shifted reality. He would have to return to his home in the country, away from the city, his friends, Hifumi. It hurt to imagine, but it was more honest.

No matter what, there was no room for doubts now. While he supposed he could simply sleep away the days until Maruki took full control, abandoning the Phantom Thieves and their plans, he had no mind to. His doubts had been vanquished, and his friends were on his side. That mattered most. He was never going to betray his friends, especially after asking that they give up so much.

Akira turned again, pulling his covers up closer to his face. He had to get at least some rest, or he wouldn’t be in fighting shape. He flicked back through his gallery, at the picture he had taken with Hifumi at the shrine on New Years’. She was cute and well put together, he was a bit of a mess, though he kind of always was. He hadn’t fully realized the extent of what was wrong then. He could have had that world. They all could have. They were going to give it up. Perhaps this little vignette could be repeated someday, on another shrine on another New Year’s, free from the bad feelings of this one.

He held that feeling in his chest. It felt nice, imagining that. Dreaming of that, he put his phone down and managed to fall asleep. They’d begin the process toward making it happen, starting tomorrow.

* * *

The next morning, the gates to the Metaverse opened for them once again. The laboratory that Maruki ran was in full lockdown, with gates shuttered and the attendant physicians replaced with security. Their preexisting knowledge of the layout made it difficult for the guards to stop them, however. They had a mission, and this was their one chance. A few Shadows were not going to be sufficient to stop them. It was a snap before the Phantom Thieves had reached where they had exfiltrated from their previous adventure. Before them, a psientific model of the Garden of Eden stood, a simulacrum of paradise that they found revolting. Fruit from the Tree of Knowledge surrounded the area, the cores replaced by unblinking lenses. Cameras, watching them, even here. It made a twisted kind of sense. Maruki had to know what was going on everywhere if he was going to recreate this Biblical paradise, after all.

The beam within the center of the garden no longer ferried the unfortunate from the laboratory to Eden. Maruki had changed his attention fully to parrying the attack from the Thieves. It made sense. With the Phantom Thieves dispatched, he would have no more obstacles to stop him from implementing his ideal reality. If they instead triumphed, his plans would be in ruin. He had to focus everything on them, and in turn, they on him.

A speaker somewhere above the Thieves called out to them. “Thank you for coming.” Maruki’s voice boomed down. Despite the high stakes and conflict, he still sounded mostly his usual self, though perhaps a bit sorrowful. “Please meet me up here.” A few vines tied together, and a stairway erected itself, spiraling around the garden, leading up to a platform at its apex. Watching closely for any traps, and finding none, the Thieves acquiesced, ascending the floral stairs.

Atop the platform, surrounded by the mixture of simulated nature, surveillance apples, and the azure hue that resulted from his Persona, Maruki stood. He wasn’t facing the Thieves. His shoulders were slumped, but his suit was still finely pressed. He sighed. “Well. I guess I have your answer. No last minute regrets?”

Akira squeezed Hifumi’s hand, and then turned to look into her eyes. She nodded. It was time. Akira said back, calm and collected. “That’s right. We can’t live in this reality anymore.”

Maruki turned to face them. His attire was similar, but they hadn’t seen from behind that he was now donning a golden mask, not dissimilar from their own masks. “I understand your point of view, but I have no intention of giving up my plans for reality either. If you win, everything will go back to as it was. But if I win, I will finish the merging of realities, and I will end all suffering.” With a flourish, he summoned his Persona, a glimmering golden totem that matched the shade of his mask, surrounded by innumerable shadowy tentacles that took the form of hands. Those hands bore resemblance to the wires that crisscrossed Odaiba. “It’s time, Azathoth. Our final battle has come.”

The Thieves entered their fighting stance. If all went well, this was it. There was no reason to hold back anything. Akira pulled away his own mask, revealing yet another of his myriad Personae, the swordsman Yoshitsune. With eight quick strikes, the legendary blademaster unleashed a devastating attack at Azathoth - which was promptly blocked by one of the old god’s many arms. It barely even reacted to the impact.

“One of those tentacles is blocking for Azathoth!” Akira shouted. “Star, do you have a plan?”

Hifumi, standing right behind Akira, was covered by the white wings of Helel, gently floating above the ground behind her. “I think…” She drew a few lines with her finger in the air, trying to reify a mental map of the battleground. “If you target the protector’s base, it shouldn’t be able to defend itself. From there, you can start whittling down Azathoth.”

Hifumi’s tactics were sound, and a few well placed physical strikes from Akira and Ryuji were able to weaken the defensive bulwark that Azathoth and Maruki hid behind. At Akira and Hifumi’s combined guidance, they were able to chip away at Azathoth just as they had for their previous targets. They were gaining the advantage, despite the difficult odds.

“You’re strong. I know that.” Maruki called out. “It’s exactly the reason you’re suffering. Please, listen to me! Let me save you!” Azathoth flew higher above him, empowered with some kind of glowing energy.

“Ah!” Futaba exclaimed, eyes fixated on one of Necronomicon’s many screens. “I’m detecting additional signals underground… Haru! Watch out!”

Haru began to move, and Makoto pulled her away from where she stood. A moment later, Azathoth’s appendages struck there, from above and below. Were it not for last minute callouts and intervention, she may not have survived.

Before the Thieves could return to the rhythm of combat, Maruki unleashed an attack of his own. A wave of the distorted energy that had surrounded Odaiba arced from him over Akira and at Hifumi who had found cover behind him. It was one final attempt to get her to succumb to the new reality.

“Togo-san. I know you miss your father, I know you miss your shogi career. You want to live happily with Kurusu-kun. I can make this happen! You just have to accept my reality!” Maruki shouted from behind Azathoth’s protection.

Hifumi clutched at her head for a moment, then the air shattered into energy, just as it had when she had first denied Maruki’s reality. She shouted back. “No! I don’t want to live in a false world! I have to live in reality, and move on from the troubles I’ve faced. And I can live with Akira without your influence! For that, we have to cut you down!”

Renewed with energy, Akira and the Thieves continued cutting down Maruki’s Persona. Soon, Azathoth began to falter, and after that, he fell to the ground. Maruki collapsed with him.

“Grab the Treasure and run!” Morgana shouted.

Akira picked up an object from Maruki’s hand - a blazing torch - and felt the ground beneath to crumble beneath his feet. The Palace was starting to collapse. They were almost there. As they fled, Akira asked Morgana, “Wait, this is the real Maruki, not a cognitive one. Should we go back and make sure he’s okay?”

“We don’t have time, dude! Come on!” Ryuji interjected.

Morgana stopped fleeing, his eyes wide open. “I don’t think we need to worry about that.”

Maruki had summoned one last gasp of power, now lifted in the air by the ghastly appendages he had used in combat. One of those arms reached out and snatched back the torch from Akira’s hand.

“I’m not going to give up! I’ve given up so much for this! I’m willing to do anything it takes!” Maruki shouted, on the verge of tears. The swirling appendages began to cocoon him, rearranging themselves into a humanoid form. As they coalesced, they turned the same shade of gold as Maruki’s mask and Azathoth. A voice now emanated from it, likely Maruki’s, though it was far deeper. “Adam Kadmon… I am thou. Help me see my reality flourish!” With those words, the grand mechanical being that suddenly appeared before the Thieves began to wind up one of its massive arms. They had surely no chance of surviving this blow.

“Everyone! Get in front of that!” Hifumi cried out. She had no idea if that last tactic would be able to stop it, but it was all they had. Assuming it failed, they were dead either way. “Joker, get ready to do something!”

Each of the Thieves took point in front of Akira. When Adam Kadmon threw the punch, light flooded the area. Akira stumbled a bit from the force of the impact, but managed to stay on his feet. He felt the presence of Arsene about him, and a gun manifested in his hand much like when he had fought Yaldabaoth.

He heard the calls of his friends coming from in front of the fist. Their powers combined, they were holding back the fist of Adam Kadmon, with much difficulty.

“Go, Joker! Finish this! This will be our grandest victory yet!” Hifumi yelled.

“No more fancy shit! Hurry up and do your goddamn job!” Akechi shouted, struggling to maintain his resistance against Adam Kadmon.

Akira jumped up, ascending Adam Kadmon’s arm. A moment later, he was face to face with the primordial being. He thought back to those times where he first fought with Hifumi on the shogi board, feeling adrift in life and on the battlefield. Now, he was a powerful general. He squeezed the trigger. “Checkmate.”

Adam Kadmon crumbled to dust, and both Maruki and Akira fell to the ground. Maruki dropped the torch, and Morgana snatched it.

“We need a way out of here…” Makoto said, feeling the tremble of the earth and seeing how far above the ground they were. “I don’t know if the Mona bus will do it here. Do you have anything else, Morgana?”

“I’ll give it a try…” Morgana said. With concentrated effort and a small puff, Morgana formed his body into a helicopter. “Whoa! This must be something that’s common in cognition, I guess.”

“Woulda’ been helpful had you tried that earlier!” Ryuji shouted. 

The Thieves began to pile into the Monacopter. Hifumi reached out a hand to help Akira up. He rose to his feet, but another, shadowy arm pulled him back.

“Please!” Maruki begged. “Just a moment!”

Hifumi tried harder to pull Akira into the helicopter, but Maruki’s last breaths would not let him go. Akira waved her to go.

“I’ll be fine. Just tell Mona to stay near in case this place tries to fall down under me.” Akira said.

Hifumi let go. She hated to let him go, but Akira was strong. He’d made it through worse. He’d be okay.

“Can I just have one moment, Kurusu-kun, to let go of my regrets?” Maruki asked, stumbling to his feet. His suit was torn and he was battered. “All this will be gone soon, anyway. My reality won’t exist for more than a few more minutes.”

Akira didn’t speak, just nodded. The next thing he felt was a hard punch to the side of his face.

“I gave up everything! Why?” Maruki cried.

Akira threw a punch back. His face hurt, but the adrenaline meant he could shrug it off. Maruki replied with one more.

“Rumi… I’m sorry…” Maruki collapsed again. “That’s it, then. My plans are over.” Maruki reached up to the sky, a snowflake falling in his hand.

Akira tried to find the Monacopter, but it was gone. A moment later, he woke up in a dark, cold room.

* * *

The Phantom Thieves, less their leader and Akechi, found themselves outside the stadium construction site in Odaiba. Akechi’s disappearance made sense - from what little she’d heard Akira talk about Akechi’s situation, destroying Maruki’s reality would cause Akechi to cease to be once more. Akira’s situation was more troublesome. They had been preparing to rescue him when suddenly the Metaverse itself began to collapse. They hadn’t been able to get him out. A quick look at any of their phones confirmed their suspicions - the Metanav was gone, just as it had vanished after the defeat of Yaldabaoth.

Hifumi checked the group one last time, just to be sure. Her stomach dropped. He really was gone. She knew she shouldn’t have let him go. Giving up her most valuable piece right into enemy territory… It was an elementary mistake. She had been a fool again, and now her boyfriend was gone.

Apparently realizing the slow panic attack Hifumi was falling into, Makoto put an arm on her shoulder. “Try not to panic, though I know it’s hard. Everything will be snapping back to how it was before Maruki’s reality, right? Let’s go see if he’s with Sojiro.”

Hifumi felt her nerves settle for a moment, though she still had a queasy sensation in her stomach. Makoto was right, though. Akira wouldn’t want her to panic, even if something horrible had gone wrong. He’d want her to fight on to the bitter end. No resignation, not when victory was still a possibility.

Leblanc was quiet, as per usual, but Sojiro was attendant at the counter. His reaction as the group entered probably meant that Hifumi’s distress was immediately evident.

“Have you seen Akira?” Hifumi blurted out as she stumbled into the cafe, followed by the rest of the thieves.

“You feelin’ okay?” Sojiro said, a worried look still on his face. “Anyway, I thought I told you guys. He was sent to juvie after all that business at Christmas. I figured you guys knew that. If I forgot to tell you, sorry. Didn’t mean to worry you so much.”

Hifumi felt a small wave of relief wash over her. He was imprisoned, sure, but he was alive. That was better than the worst case scenario her mind had conjured when they left Maruki’s Palace.

“No, it’s okay. I must have just forgotten. Thank you, Sakura-san.” Hifumi said, exiting the cafe as quickly as she entered.

“When did she decide to be formal with me again?” Sojiro asked. 

The rest of the group shrugged, then followed Hifumi outside. She was on her phone, and pulled it away from her ear as she saw the rest approach.

“I’m going to help get him out. He’s innocent, we all know it. Will you guys help?” Hifumi asked.

Of course, the Thieves wanted to help Akira. With varying murmurs and nods, they all agreed.

“Great. I’ve got to make some calls. You guys go do whatever you can. Keep in contact. We’re gonna get him free.” Hifumi had tears welling in her eyes. She was going to rescue him. Her plan was going to infuriate her, but she was willing to make that sacrifice. He had for them, after all.

* * *

Hifumi was on camera for the first time in months. She always dreaded these interviews, but at least this one was for a good reason. A newscaster with a fake smile asked her questions in that overly practiced tone.

“So, Togo-san, you’re saying this boy was the reason you were able to discover what your mother had done in regard to rigging matches?” The reporter said.

Hifumi remembered all the media training her mother had made her go through. Now was the time to use it. “That’s right. Without him, I’d still be trapped in that morass of lies. He’s a good person. He’s committed no crimes. He revealed all kinds of corruption with this country. He needs to be freed.”  
The camera turned, cutting away to the transition from this segment back to the main newscast. “The boy suspected of being the leader of the notorious Phantom Thieves was returned to juvenile hall in December after a probation violation. More and more people have come out in support of him, including Hifumi Togo, the former shogi champion. We’ll have more on this topic as it develops.” The reporter wrapped up, and soon Hifumi was alone again in the church where she had spent so much time.

There were a few things burning in her mind at the moment. The first was that she still hated the feeling of being in the media space. In her future career, she’d still make sure to keep those to a minimum. This was an exception. The other thing that frustrated her was that little word, former. She had to get rid of that. That would come next, though. There was something more important right now.

She checked the Phantom Thieves group chat. Each message that came through was another friend of hers and Akira’s that was willing to vouch for him. Hopefully it would be enough to free Akira from his shackles one last time. She wasn’t going to let the world take him from her again once he was back.


	45. Inevitability

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As with all things, the end comes a little too soon. Akira has a few things to make up for before he leaves Tokyo (and he's definitely coming back as soon as he can.)

Akira counted out the days in his head. February 14th. He hadn’t been in juvie for long, but he was already sick of it. He could only hope that the rest of the Thieves were doing alright. He knew Maruki’s reality had fallen apart, else he wouldn’t have been stuck in here. He wasn’t even really sure about all the fine details about how he got here - he had no memory of the time in between talking to Sae on Christmas and after they defeated Maruki. He just ended up here, the details of his arrest and stay overwritten by Maruki’s reality. He knew his friends would be okay, however. They were strong. Hopefully, this wouldn’t take too much longer, and he could rejoin them soon. He was a little cross that this was forcing him to miss Valentine’s Day, after all.

A set of sharp footfalls down the hallway got his attention. One of the prison wardens, decidedly unmagical compared to the ones he had been accustomed to in the Velvet Room, had a message for him.

“You’ve got a visitor, Kurusu. Sae Niijima. Some kinda lawyer.” The warden said.

Akira felt a little bit of hope light up in his heart. He hadn’t heard from Sae since before entering juvie. Well, not to his knowledge at least. Having a month and a half gap in his memory was intensely frustrating.

Akira followed the warden to the plexiglass visitor’s screen, where Sae was waiting for him. She seemed unusually happy. He allowed his hope to grow a bit further.

“Good afternoon, Kurusu-kun.” Sae smiled. “Let me thank you again for everything you’ve sacrificed to help bring Masayoshi Shido to justice.”

“So you’ve got good news then, right?” Akira asked furtively. He didn’t want to be rude to Sae, but she had no idea the tribulations he had gone through only to return to captivity.

“Indeed. After today’s trial, I can say it is nearly certain that Shido will be convicted.” Sae said.

“That’s good to hear.” Akira felt a rush of endorphins. It felt good to finally get legal justice against the man who’d tried to ruin his life. It couldn’t undo everything that had happened as a result, but it was something.

“That’s not all. Shido’s conviction was primarily based on the testimony of the woman he assaulted a year ago. After a wildfire of public outcry about your case, she came out of hiding to tell the truth of what happened that night. In addition to Shido’s conviction, your case was overturned. You’re free to go.”

Akira felt his heart jump. It almost felt too good to be true. He did a double take, making sure he hadn’t slipped back into Maruki’s reality somehow, but everything felt normal. He was really going to be free. The charges would presumably be removed from government records, though he suspected that the social stigmas wouldn’t fade anywhere near as fast. Despite that, this was an enormous coup.

Sae continued. “I called Sakura-san. He’s on the way to pick you up. In personal news, you showed me how corrupt the legal system in this country can be. I’m going to transition from prosecutor to defense attorney.” She had a sense of resolution in her eyes. “I don’t want what happened to you to happen to others.”

Akira struggled to speak. He was still stunned by the revelation that he got to leave that it was hard to comprehend anyone else’s life-changing revelations. “I’m glad I had such an impact on you.” He smiled, clearly not entirely paying attention to the conversation at hand.

Sae, realizing Akira wasn’t quite in the headspace for a deep conversation, instead led him out. After a bit of bureaucratic management, she took Akira outside, where Sojiro’s sedan waited. Waving to Sae, he got into the front passenger seat.

“Hey there, jailbird.” Sojiro said with a smirk. “Sorry, is that too soon? Anyway, glad to see you’re out. I knew that bastard Shido would get taken down.” Sojiro smiled, before realizing something and losing that newfound smugness. “Oh, and I guess I should really give you an official apology. I shouldn’t have assumed you were some ne'er do well kid.”

Akira nodded. He still was in a state of shock.

“Alright, you’re probably tired.” Sojiro continued. “Let’s get you home. I know you probably just wanna get to sleep, but your friends did ask to use the cafe this afternoon, so I suspect that they’ll want to spend some time with you first. Hopefully that’s not an issue.”

Akira laid back on the headrest, closing his eyes. He was free. He got to see everyone again. He’d get to see Hifumi again. For the first time in a long time, things were finally looking up. It felt like years of tension unravelled from his neck all at once.

* * *

“Welcome back!” The voices of the collected Phantom Thieves rang out for Akira as he crossed the threshold into Leblanc. Hifumi ran up to him, throwing him into an embrace. She wanted to give him a kiss, but she still felt anxious about such gratuitous public displays of affection. The urge won her over a moment later, as she couldn’t resist at least a quick kiss on the cheek. She’d been worried for him for some time, and she could handle a little gentle teasing, if that. They’d understand.

“I’m so, so glad you’re okay.” She said, pressing her face into Akira’s shoulder.

“I missed you. A lot.” Akira’s normal suavity hadn’t yet returned to him, but he still felt the need to give a hug back and run a hand through her hair.

The other Thieves - former Thieves, now relegated back to the worldly role of friends - interrupted the little moment, all eager to rejoice in Akira’s return to freedom. To both their chagrin, they had to break apart for now.

“Yo, dude.” Ryuji clapped a hand on Akira’s shoulder. “We finally got Shido down and you cleared. We really pulled a full court press to get it to happen, but now you’re free! What are ya gonna do now?”

That question, while well intentioned, did sting a little bit. There was still one very large calamity on the horizon that had slipped his mind. In March, he was still slated to return to his home in the countryside. He’d be pulled away from his friends, at least for his third year of high school. Possibly longer, though he intended to return to Tokyo by hook or by crook as soon as he could.

“I don’t know. Relax some, I guess.” He chuckled, not wanting to bring down the celebratory mood by mentioning his troubles. He’d given his friends enough trouble for one lifetime, he could delay this one at least a little bit.

As Akira received well-wishes from his friends, Hifumi snuck around the back of the group to whisper into Makoto’s ear. After their brief conversation, Makoto spoke up, in a strangely artificial tone. “Hey guys, I think we should go. We need to… uh… let Akira rest.”

Slowly, the group began to realize the meaning. They turned to leave. As the group exited, Yusuke could be heard through the door. “I don’t understand, Makoto. He’s only just returned and we are going to leave him again just like that? It simply doesn’t make sense-” The door closed, cutting them off from the outside world. Hifumi and Akira were together in Leblanc, alone, cuddled together in a booth.

Hifumi smiled, a blush creeping into her face. She pulled a small box out of her bag, wrapped in ribbons. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Akira.” She handed it over. “Sorry if it isn’t very exciting. You getting out today kind of came at short notice.”

Akira happily accepted the box, lifting the adorned lid. A small collection of mismatched chocolates sat inside. They were obviously handmade, lacking the polish of chocolates one might purchase from a confectionery, but they still looked delicious. He popped one into his mouth. Delicious. A lot of sweetness, a pleasant texture, and the general benefit that most foods got when they were crafted for you by a loved one. The culinary side of him wanted to iterate on this recipe, but that could wait. “This is really good, Hifumi.” He passed one over to her, and she obliged.

“Ah!” Hifumi was elated. “I’m so happy you like them. I was really worried… I guess my time attempting to cook actually did pay off.”

“You know, if you wanted to become better at cooking, I could always teach you.” Akira said.

“I don’t know if I have the natural inclination like you do. I’m just happy to be able to make you happy.” Hifumi giggled. “Anyway, I just wanted to say again... I love you, Akira. I’m so glad to have you as my boyfriend.”

Akira felt his heart swell. “You too, my star.” He drew in for a kiss on the lips. It felt like the culmination of everything they’d worked together on. While their trials in the world were likely far from over, the metaphysical ones they’d faced in the Metaverse had concluded. They had won; triumph on the battlefield bringing them together yet another time.

“We can get through anything together. I’m very serious about you, so don’t expect me to allow you any redos.” Hifumi laughed once more, drifting over into Akira’s lap.

“Of course. I’ll be at your side forever.” Akira played with Hifumi’s hair again. They were together again. It felt so, so good.

* * *

A month of normal life came and went quickly. Akira used to dread the seemingly endless school days. After dealing with Shido, Yaldabaoth, and Maruki in quick succession, these days felt like a dream. Now, the brief period of normalcy was starting to run out. He had less than a week before the cruel hand of fate would pull him from his Tokyo residence in an attic back to rural hell. His friends knew now how things would shake out - he couldn’t hide something like that forever, and their insistence that their friendships would be maintained despite the distance soothed the sting a little. It didn’t totally take away the feelings of dread he had, but it gave him hope.

He couldn’t ruminate too long on that, however. There was one other big thing he had to take care of before that fateful day. White Day was tomorrow, and he wanted to make up for a lackluster Christmas date with a spectacular White Day one. Unfortunately, that plan had a major snag - he had been in juvie from December to February in this reality, and every reservation had filled up well in advance. This didn’t faze him, however. As a Phantom Thief, he knew the value of calling in favors, and he hoped that a certain someone who had alluded to former playboy status would have a few tips.

“Sojiro?” Akira asked, walking into Leblanc. His caretaker for the next few days looked up from the counter at him. “I um… need some help with White Day.”

“Well, you came to the right place. Sit down.” He pointed at a stool at the bar, and Akira obliged.

“So I want to really make this special for Hifumi. There is one problem. I couldn’t get a reservation, because of, y’know…” He gestured wide with his hands. “Everything.”

Sojiro sighed. “It’s not gonna be easy to get this set up, but since it wasn’t really your fault, I’ll cash in an old favor for ya.” He slid a business card across the counter. “Call them up, bring up my name. No guarantees, but that oughta get you in.”

Akira thanked his father figure and scrambled upstairs. He cleared his throat, tried to put a little gravitas into his voice. “Hello, I’d like to place a reservation for White Day.”

A bored-sounding man on the other end rattled off a denial. It wasn’t his first time turning down a last minute reservation today, it sounded like. “I’m terribly sorry sir, but we’ve been full up for two months.”

Showtime. “I’m actually calling as a friend of Sojiro Sakura. He told me you would be able to make a spot for an associate of his.”

Akira heard mumbling on the other end of the line. After a moment, the man returned. “I see… Yes, I suppose we can find a slot tomorrow night. Please don’t let this get out. And tell Sakura-san that we and him are even now.”

Akira pumped his fist. He could finally give Hifumi the date she deserved.

* * *

Dressing up was not one of Akira’s strong suits. A nicely pressed blazer over his normal casual clothes was the best he could do, but he was happy to do it. Everything had to go spectacularly. He had told Hifumi of the reservations last night, and over the phone she had sounded quite excited. Now, nerves were starting to get to him. The reservation was a little later, but he had one more tiny surprise before then.

The two met up at their prearranged meeting spot in Shinagawa. Hifumi wore the orange-and-blue dress he’d seen her in a few times before. It was simple, but the way she wore it made it seem far more elegant than it might otherwise seem.

“Good evening.” Hifumi said, her face already red. “Thank you for this.”

“It’s my responsibility as a good boyfriend.” Akira laughed. “I want to make up for Christmas. Plus, you gave me those delicious chocolates…”

“They weren’t that special!” Hifumi protested, but there was a small hint of a smile on her face.

“They were, my star.” Akira kissed Hifumi. He felt like he’d never get used to it - it still felt as special as the first time. “Come on, I want to take you somewhere.”

A bit of travel took them to the Shinagawa Aquarium. Deep blue tanks surrounded them, filled by all manner of creatures of both the sea and rivers.

“This place is so meditative…” Hifumi said, focusing on the erratic movements of one lionfish. “I feel so relaxed. My mind is totally clear. I should come here before important matches.” 

“You’re still thinking about that?” Akira laughed.

“Of course!” She replied. “I’ve got time again. I plan to get back into the shogi circuit, no matter what it takes.”

Akira slung an arm around her. “I’ll be with you. If anyone has the passion to conquer that scene, despite the setbacks, it’ll be you.” Akira checked the time on his phone. “Oh. We need to get going. We’re going to miss our reservation if we don’t leave now.”

The restaurant Sojiro had helped them get into was astonishingly high-class. Akira thanked his stars he had money left over from the Metaverse - he’d probably have gone broke just from the appetizers without it. Soft orchestral music filled the room as the couple ate food that most people might never experience.

“You’re really too good to me, you know?” Hifumi said, eyes locked on Akira’s.

“I assure you, I’m not. You deserve it.” Akira replied.

Before their little joking lovers’ tiff could continue, the lights in the restaurant dimmed. The speaker overhead announced, “We’d like your evening to be unforgettable, with one last touch from us.” The curtains surrounding the room lifted, revealing the windows. They looked out onto the bright Tokyo skyline, glimmering with violet and blue. It was stunning.

Akira saw his chance. He pulled from his bag the bouquet of flowers he’d picked up before their meeting at Shinagawa and handed them to Hifumi. She looked like she was about to cry from happiness.  
“Akira… this is the best day of my life.” She said. “I love you so much. I’m so glad I met you.”

“And I you, my star.” The two sat in silence for a bit, taking in the skyline. Akira was going to have to leave this place sooner than anyone wanted, but it was home. He’d be back. This sight, this relationship, all of this… this was what he truly wanted. Sitting next to Hifumi, he felt like he could never leave this place and still be happy. No countryside detour away from his perfect life could dampen that feeling.

* * *

Now, the day had come. The dopamine high of White Day had worn off, and the bell had finally tolled. A laundry list of painful goodbyes had taken up much of his morning. Many of his friends were off on international jaunts or their own journeys. Haru and Makoto were off to college together, Ann was studying abroad, Sumire was still on her gymnastics quest. Their group were all still friends, but the idyllic physical togetherness they had shared couldn’t last forever.

Akira and Hifumi were spending one last bit of time together in Leblanc’s attic before Akira had to leave for his scheduled train. This little attic had been their hideout, both for thievery and romance, for quite some time. Even giving up little things like that hurt in their own way.

“I’m already planning to re-enter the amateur shogi leagues. I don’t think it’s right to start as a professional. Even if I did, I doubt they’d let me in with the suspicions about me. I need to prove I’m honest.” Hifumi said, cuddled up with Akira.

“You’ll make it. I believe in you. The Queen Togo I know will soon be the talk of shogi players worldwide.” Akira smiled. “Though I’m the only one lucky enough to spend time with her like this.”

“Oh, I’ll make it.” Hifumi’s eyes were steeled. “Have no doubt about that.”

“Competitive as always.” Akira laughed. “Well, I guess I have to go now. I’m going to miss you, my star.”

“We’ll still be dating. We can video call whenever we want. I’ll definitely make a trip out there, too. You can show me the parts that aren’t, you know…” Hifumi reacted to Akira’s furrowed face as she said that. “Bad.”

“I can’t say no to you, but you’ll be disappointed.” One more kiss, and the two walked down the stairs in Leblanc.

“Things are gonna be so boring without you around, Akira!” Futaba cried out as he prepared to leave.

“I know you want to come back, Akira.” Sojiro said with a smile. “If you ever need a job, you know how to contact me. Your coffee and curry are damn good at this point.”

With a wave, Akira left Leblanc for the last time, at least for a while. He was leaving Tokyo, but Hifumi was still his girlfriend. All his friends were still his friends, despite the distance. It wouldn’t be easy, but he’d make it. He hopped into a taxi. Loneliness crept in from the corners of his mind, but he tried to keep them at bay. This wasn’t the end.

It felt like no time at all before the taxi pulled into the drop-off point for the train station. A strangely familiar voice spoke to him from the front of the car. The taxi driver was none other than Takuto Maruki, his therapist-turned-antagonist. Maruki had survived, but he had no malice in his eyes. “Remember, Kurusu-kun. If you’re ever struggling, you can always make it. You can even start over, like I did. You taught me that.” Maruki smiled. “No charge.”

With a nod, Akira left the cab. It seemed that even those he’d fought against had the capacity to change and remain in his life. It felt weird, but he was glad he could change one last heart before his days as a Phantom Thief faded away.

He found his place on a sparsely packed train car. He stared out the window for a bit, watching as the landscape began to speed away as the train began moving. He couldn’t keep his mind away from his friends. He sent a message off to the group chat. “Miss you guys already.”

The responses came quick, but one was special. Hifumi was there, as always, with a nearly immediate response. “I’ll see you on the battlefield again soon, General Kurusu.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading. It's been a pleasure. This story grew way beyond what I imagined, so I hope you all liked it. I had so much fun writing for my favorite couple in P5.
> 
> As for post-canon stuff, I'm planning a sequel, but I want to give myself some time to take a break and then plan this out, since this will be the first time I'm writing something that will be extensive and post-canon, so I want to make sure I have a skeleton before I start posting. I'll probably start sometime in December or January. Hopefully that won't be too long to wait.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who read/commented/kudosed/anything. It means the world to me. :)


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